My Immortal
by JayJay015
Summary: Last Chapter is finally up. Everything gets resolved. What will happen between Logan and Rogue after they're rescued from Magneto? The End.
1. Leaving

**A/N:** Ok, so this is my very first X-Men fic, so I sure hope everyone likes it. Please Read and Review! I'm SOOOO addicted to reviews! I LOVE hearing what you have to say (good or bad), so please remember to review! Also, I don't know anything about the X-Men world (i.e. comics or what's to come after X2) outside of what they show in the movies so please be gentle if some of my facts are slightly off.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own X-men or any of its characters, this is just for fun!

**Time Frame:** This story begins immediately after the group returns to the mansion after losing Jean at Alkali Lake, Logan and Scott are still in with the Professor (the scene at the end of X2) and Logan is having a VERY hard time dealing with her death.

**Characters:** This is a Logan/Rogue fic mostly. The other characters will no doubt make appearances, but it's mainly Logan and Rogue and it **will be** a romantic involvement so if you're not a fan of that pairing then you may not like this fic, consider yourself warned;o) LOL!

**Special thanks go to 'UKTara' for proofing this for me! Thanks girl you're awesome!**

**My Immortal**

**Chapter 1**

Rogue had been pacing outside the professor's office for nearly an hour already, her frustration building with every passing moment.

"What on earth can they be talking about that would take so damn long?" She grumbled under her breath as she felt her curiosity begin to take over. She'd been working with the professor and Dr. Grey for several weeks on trying to curb it and keep it under control but so far it appeared as though she was having no luck. Her curiosity always seemed to get the better of her and always seemed to get her into nothing but trouble. But this time, she didn't care, all she knew now was that Logan was on the other side of that door and wherever he was concerned, she felt the need to know everything.

She wasn't stupid, she was smart enough to see that Dr. Greys' death was affecting him more than he was letting on, but her love for him combined with her youth and innocence wouldn't allow her to leave him be. _She_ wanted to be the one to comfort him; _she _wanted to be the one to bring him through this hard time. To hold him close, listen if he wanted to talk (however unlikely that might be), and to heal the hurt he was undoubtedly feeling inside. The fact that he'd gone straight in to see the professor upon their return to the mansion made her writhe inside with an agony that was slowly eating her alive, agony of not being with him and of seeing him mourn so terribly for someone he loved, someone, that wasn't her.

"Come on Logan, come on," she urged quietly as she continued to pace, her boots clicking impatiently on the hard wooden floor outside the professor's office. She'd been tracing her steps there for so long she wondered if she might eventually wear a groove in the floor if she continued much longer, but after a moments contemplation, realized that was silly, surely the glossy finish on the dark mahogany hall was more durable than that.

She continued to pace, finally pausing when it appeared that no one was around, she placed her ear gently against the large mahogany door trying to hear what might be going on inside. She listened intently trying hard to block out the shrieks of laughter that came from the kids playing foosball down the hall. After several moments she thought she heard her name mentioned, surely that was the professors voice, then followed a lower, gruffer voice that was unmistakably Logan's, and although she couldn't make out what he said she knew it was him, for she would recognize his voice anywhere.

"Maybe he's declaring his hidden love for me," she whispered to herself, then laughed at the thought of Logan declaring his undying love for anyone, let alone her. Quickly quieting her giggles she went back to listening at the door trying desperately to grasp even one word that might tell her what they were talking about.

"Rogue we need to talk."

She whirled around quickly to see Bobby standing behind her at the bottom of the stairs, she tried her best to look innocent, though she knew she looked guilty as sin in such a compromising position.

"Rogue?" Bobby questioned, his forehead crinkling in confusion.

"Bobby!" She exclaimed in surprise, "what are you doing here?"

He looked at her quizzically, but as he stepped closer the little crinkle that had formed between his eyebrows, quickly faded and curled into a small smile, "I _could _ask you the same question."

She only tilted her head to the side trying to look adoring, hoping that maybe, if she was lucky, she could charm her way out of this awkward situation.

"Looks like you're spying to me," Bobby smirked sarcastically as he proceeded toward the door to see what was so interesting, "hmmm, I wonder what could be so interesting in the professor's office?"

"Nothing!" Rogue quickly spat, "you know me, I'm just always interested in seeing what everyone is up to." She quickly reached out her long slender arm clasping her gloved hand around Bobby's, "come on," she urged, desperately wanting to get him away from the door before he figured out what she was up to, or even worse, before the professor came out.

"No no no." Bobby stood firmly planted outside the large double doors and she could tell he had no intentions of going anywhere until he knew what had gotten her attention. He quickly leaned over placing his ear quietly against the door and began to listen.

Rogue just stood there, frozen, not knowing what to do, she knew once Bobby found out what was in that room that there'd be trouble. He'd always been jealous of Logan and the relationship she had with him, or, was trying to have with him, she'd never been very good at concealing her feelings especially where Logan was concerned. She and Bobby had grown close in the time that Logan was away, but upon his return, tensions grew and jealously began to rage, and after their failed attempt at a first kiss several days before Rogue began to wonder if there was ever any hope for this relationship.

After several moments lost in thought she was quickly snapped back to the present when Bobby suddenly jerked back from the door, "damn it Rogue! God! I should've known!" His voice was hurt filled and angry and she could see it written all over his face, he knew what was in the professors' office, or in actuality he knew _who _was in the professors' office.

"Bobby I'm sorry!" She pleaded as he walked away angrily.

"You know what Rogue," Bobby turned back to face her, his boyish charm completely dissolved by the fury that was flooding through him, "I came down here to talk to you about _us_, but now," his words trailed off as the anger melted from his face, replaced by pure and simple hurt.

"Bobby please!" Rogue cried out as she began feeling the tears filling her eyes and she struggled to hold them back, she may not have loved Bobby, but she certainly had no intention of ever hurting him.

"No! You know what _Rogue_," the way he said her name made her wish she were invisible, "I knew, I knew after that kiss that this was never going to work, I mean, how can I be with someone with _poison skin_?" He threw her mutation back at her as if he truly believed it were a curse of some sort. She'd always believed this was the case, but Bobby especially had always insisted that it wasn't, that something good would come from it, that God would never create someone to deliberately be cursed. So when he screamed what she had always believed to be the truth at her, she crumpled to the floor unable to stand under her own power any longer.

"That was a low blow Bobby," she whimpered, trying to stop the tears that were flowing freely now.

"I'm sorry Rogue," he replied his voice empty, void of any real sorrow, "but this can never work, I can't be with someone who I can never touch and who can never touch me," he hesitated as if unsure whether or not to go on, "and…" his words trailed off again leaving a deafening silence between them.

She looked up at him, her eyes blurred by the stinging tears that filled them, unable to believe that this was the same boy who only days ago was professing his love for her and begging her to kiss him regardless of the consequences. She sat motionless on the hard wood floor, it was warm to the touch but she couldn't feel it, everything just felt empty and cold. And as if she didn't feel bad enough, she somehow knew that he wasn't finished, Bobby had more to say and her instincts told her it wouldn't be good.

"And?" Rogue dared to ask, forcing herself to look up into his icy blue eyes, waiting for the inevitable blow that was to come.

"And," Bobby began coldly, "I can't be with someone who will _never _love me."

His head dropped and his eyes fixated on the floor unable to meet her gaze any longer.

"What?" She whispered in confusion, her eyes shrinking to mere slits trying to understand where he was going with this, "Bobby I… I don't understand."

"Give it up Rogue!" he spat angrily, "it's so obvious you're in love with him! How can I compete with _that_! With that… that… that _thing_!" Bobby's hand flew furiously out in front of him as he pointed at the giant door behind her and she knew what he meant, and she knew he was right.

"Bobby I…" She tried one more time to somehow make things right, to somehow make him understand that she'd never meant to hurt him, but as his final words came hurling at her, slicing through her like knives in warm butter, she knew there was nothing she could say to make it right. So she just sat there and waited for it.

"He'll never love you ya know? You're just gonna get hurt Rogue, he's an animal, animals aren't capable of love, they just use you and move on, _if _they don't eat you first!" Bobby turned and slowly walked away leaving Rogue in a crumpled heap on the floor, but just when she thought that it couldn't possibly get any worse he turned to look back at her once more and mumbled, "I hope he breaks your heart."

She couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't think, how could Bobby be so cruel? She'd never seen him behave that way before, to anyone, let alone someone he supposedly loved. But the longer she sat there the more she realized that this was all her own doing, he was right, she _was_ in love with Logan, always had been, ever since she'd first laid eyes on him in that _cage_ in Laughlin City something had drawn her to him. Of course there were the obvious things, his rippling biceps, perfect six pack stomach, the most incredible hazel eyes she'd ever seen and of course an ass that wouldn't quit! But there was something else, something inside, something deeper, primal almost. It was the thing that caused her to scream, "look out!" when he was about to be stabbed in the bar, the thing that told her to get into his trailer and hitch a ride, and the thing that told her to believe him when he said he'd be back.

Suddenly there was a rustling behind the door, Rogue hurried to collect herself up off the floor and quickly darted into one of the nearby rooms to pull herself together, she didn't want to be caught eavesdropping and she certainly didn't want to be caught blubbering on the floor in the hall.

She looked at herself in the mirror trying hastily to repair the mascara smudges that had formed around her eyes and now lined her cheeks, then quickly ran her hands through her long dark hair pushing most of it back, only leaving the long stark white streaks hanging loosely in front. She sniffled several times rubbing her nose gently trying to pull herself together, then tested her voice just to make sure it didn't sound like she'd been crying, "hi Logan," she croaked. She cleared her throat quietly, unhappy with her first attempt at sounding normal and tried again. "Hi Logan," she paused forcing herself to smile in the mirror, "much better," she sighed, fighting the urge to burst into tears once more, as she turned to head back out into the hallway hoping to meet Logan when he emerged from the professors office.

She stood there for several moments waiting for the door to open, she could hear them talking softly on the other side hinting that they were almost through. After waiting a bit longer, she finally decided that standing right in front of the door waiting for them to come out would probably appear pretty needy. So she quietly retreated further down the hall only to turn and begin slowly back towards the professors office in an attempt to look like she was casually walking by.

Finally after only a few steps a flood of the younger X-kids flew past her nearly knocking her over in the process. Rogue watched silently from down the hall as they all crowded the professor's door and the kid with the lizard tongue knocked lightly, the doors then swung open and they piled into the office all talking at once.

For a second the hall remained empty but then Scott emerged, his face drawn with sadness, void of his usual cheery smile and cheeks flushed with emotion, she could see how Dr. Grey's death was taking its toll on him and she wished desperately that there was something she could do.

But then he appeared in the doorway and her mind became void of anything else. His rebel without a cause hair was all drawn up into its usual spikes depicting his Wolverine alter-ego, his leather jacket worn and beaten hung open to reveal a half buttoned green shirt that showed off just the right amount of his chest, jeans tight against his skin, silver belt buckle polished and reflecting the dim light in the hall. Rogue could barely contain herself, she had an overwhelming urge to run toward him and throw her arms desperately around him.

But before she had a chance to say or do anything Logan looked over at Scott standing just outside the office and spoke, his voice low and gruff, the words sounding almost forced, "hey, hey, listen," he began slowly, "she did make a choice, it was you."

Scott only looked back at him briefly with no response, no facial expression to show that he'd even heard him, he just turned and walked away. Rogue wasn't sure what that was all about, nor was she sure about what they had talked about for so long in the professors office, all she knew was that her heart was breaking, it was breaking for Jean, for Bobby, for Scott and for Logan and all she wanted at that moment was to wrap herself in his embrace and feel safe. She always felt safe when she was with him and at that moment she could think of nothing else.

"Logan!" She finally managed to find her voice and called out to him.

His head snapped up to look at her, expressionless.

Her heart sank at his disinterest, but she wasn't about to give up that quickly so she tried again, running down the hall toward him, "Logan are you alright?"

"Fine," he responded blankly, walking past her toward the stairs.

"Um," Rogue tried again hoping for more than a one word answer this time, "can I talk to you?" She began to follow him up the stairs toward his room.

"Sure, talk," he snapped back, ascending the stairs two at a time.

"Wow two words this time," she smiled trying to make light of his obvious fowl mood.

This he only regarded with a growl from deep within.

Rogue could feel her desire to continue this conversation fading quickly, maybe it would be better to just try again another time. But then he said something that caused her heart to drop into her stomach and she stopped dead in her tracks.

"I'm leavin' kid," he grunted, continuing toward his room without falter.

"Yer, yer," Rogue stuttered to try and get the words out, her shock taking control of her motor functions leaving her stalled on the stairway, "yer leavin'?"

"That's what I said," he snarled back, without so much as a look behind him at the shell of a girl he'd left standing there.

Rogue just stood there, her mind racing with thoughts but feeling helpless to let them out, finally after a few moments she heard Logan's bedroom door slam shut and she bolted up the stairs after him. Flying down the hallway she threw open his door causing it to slam into the wall behind with a bang, leaving a large circular hole where the knob made contact.

"Jesus Christ Kid! What the hell are you doin'?" Logan growled as she entered the room.

"You're just gonna leave? That's it? That's your answer!" She was finding it so hard to keep her emotions in check and a tear finally escaped down her cheek but she quickly brushed it away in anger.

"Hey, I never said I was stayin' for good! I don't _owe_ anyone here anything!" He shot back at her fiercely.

Rogue hesitated for a moment trying to collect her thoughts to answer when finally she spat, "we're all going to miss her Logan! You're not the only one who lost her you know!" After the words had escaped her lips she regretted them immediately. The look on Logan's face spoke volumes and she new she'd struck a nerve.

"Don't you _ever_ talk about her!" He snarled back, his eyes becoming mere slits as his forehead wrinkled with his increasing anger, his fists clenched, instantly flying down towards the floor and before she knew it his adamantium claws had flown out ready for a fight.

"You wanna fight me Logan!" She screamed angrily, ripping off her long black silken gloves revealing her bare skin underneath, "come on then! Let's go!"

Clenching her fists tightly Rogue lifted her hands taking a fighting stance, ready to take him on if she had too, even though she knew inside it would be a fruitless effort. She didn't stand a chance against the Wolverine and she knew it, but she was so angry with him that it didn't matter, if he wanted to go, she was ready.

For a moment she almost thought she caught a glint of a smile cross his face in amusement, but as quickly as it came it was gone again and Logan flew across the room toward her forcing her angrily back up against the wall and slamming his fists, claws first into the wooden picture frame on either side of her head. There he held her, pinning her tightly, her heart racing, unsure of his next move.

"Don't tempt me kid," he snarled angrily, looking deep into her brown eyes that were desperately searching his for some sort of reasoning behind his irrational behavior, but this time his eyes were dark and only filled with rage. Usually when she would look in them, it was like she could see straight into his soul, almost as though their encounter on Liberty Island had somehow bonded them eternally, somehow giving her the ability to see through him. She'd always had a piece of him lodged inside her head, ever since that night in his bedroom when she'd woken him from that terrible nightmare. It was like some part of him had remained, and somehow that little piece had allowed her to see parts of his inner being that he'd never allowed anyone else to see. But now she could see nothing, his eyes were empty, like he'd been robbed of all that made him human, only leaving that primal, animal side of him behind.

"Don't tempt _you_?" Rogue growled back, continuing to search furiously for some sign that _her _Logan was still somewhere inside this beast looming before her, "you forget that I could kill you with a simple touch," she finished, lifting her bare hands for him to see. She'd never thought it would come to this, Marie and Logan threatening each other like fighters in a cage, the Rogue and the Wolverine, no love, no fear, no remorse.

But then his face softened for a moment, as he looked down at the soft creamy pale skin that waved before him. Her hands, Rogue's hands, Marie's hands, he couldn't remember if he'd ever seen them ungloved before. 'No wait', he thought, silently remembering when they'd first met and she'd devoured that jerky like she hadn't eaten in weeks. She'd been so young and innocent then, timid and shy like a delicate flower that could easily break if handled to roughly, but now… he thought for a moment staring back at the _woman_ standing before him. Her eyes were filled with rage, undoubtedly due to his rough treatment of her in the past few minutes, her hands still held steady in front of his face prepared if necessary to land squarely on his jaw, if the situation so called for it.

'Had he done this to her?' He wondered. Had he somehow tainted that beautiful flower with his unrelenting anger? Is this how he'd chosen to deal with his grief over Jean? To alienate the only other person in this god forsaken world that he cared about? His claws instantly retracted, once again hiding behind their human shell, his mutation repairing the damaged skin almost instantly as he lowered his hands backing away from her slowly.

Shocked at his sudden submission Rogue let her hands drop to her sides and stared in silent confusion at the man in front of her. He turned and continued throwing his few belongings into a brown duffle bag without at word.

Rogue could only stand there and watch, her emotions fighting to gain control but she was strong to hold them back not wanting him to see that his cruelty was silently tearing her apart.

Finally after several moments in an icy silence she managed a bare whisper, afraid to hear the response, "when will you be back?"

Logan's silhouette fell still, for a moment not moving, his hands hovering in midair clasped around the shirt he'd just picked up, "maybe never kid," he finally replied, not turning to look at her.

She let out a small whimper as a solitary tear finally escaped and trickled down her cheek. Waiting for only a moment, she hoped desperately that he'd say something else, perhaps take back the words he'd just spoken and decide to stay. But deep down she knew he wouldn't, she knew him all to well, he was in her head, and she knew that once he'd made the decision to leave he would never turn back. So when she didn't think she could stand to look at him a moment longer, she turned and bolted out into the hall.

Only moments after she was gone Logan turned to see the empty space left in her absence, he sniffed the air several times still able to smell her sweet scent lingering and it nearly tore him apart.

"Aarrgghh!" He let out a blood curdling roar that could be felt throughout the entire school. He should have known better than to get involved with these people, making any kind of bonds with anyone was never anything but trouble. He'd always known that getting to close to anyone just made you vulnerable and now he was experiencing that first hand, first he'd lost Jean, and now he'd lost Rogue as well.

He had to get out of there, that place was killing him. Quickly grabbing the last of his few belongings, he stalked toward the door with no intentions of ever coming back, it just wasn't worth it, you were better off on your own, no one to answer to and no one to worry about but yourself, just the way he liked it.

But just as he was about to pass through the doorway out into the hall something caught his eye, he hesitated turning to look back, his gaze instantly dropping to the floor. His brow furrowed as he stepped back into the centre of the room and knelt to pick up the dainty black silken gloves that still lay there, she must have forgotten them. The delicate fabric draped softly over his strong hands and he could instantly smell her everywhere around him, her scent permeating every part of him as though she were still in the room.

He let his bag drop with a clunk to the floor as he fingered the tiny gloves brushing his thumb over the white embroidered letter 'R' on the back of the left one. He remembered when she'd gotten that particular pair, she'd specifically gone and had the embroidery done to remind herself that she was 'The Rogue', the untouchable. He'd always hated that she called herself that, though he had resorted to using the nickname like everyone else, he'd always preferred Marie. For a moment he considered taking them down the hall to her room and giving them back, but as his mind reflected over the last few minutes they'd spent together, he decided against it slipping them into his jacket pocket and heading out of his room for the last time.

**Ok, I hope you enjoyed it so far! Please remember to review! I'm excited to hear what you think (constructive criticism welcomed)! **

**Signed: Review Junkie ;o)**


	2. 5 Years Later

**A/N:** Please Read and Review! I'm SOOOO addicted to reviews! I LOVE hearing what you have to say (good or bad), so please remember to review! Also, I don't know anything about the X-Men world (i.e. comics or what's to come after X2) outside of what they show in the movies so please be gentle if some of my facts are slightly off.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own X-men or any of its characters, this is just for fun!

**Characters:** This is a Logan/Rogue fic mostly. The other characters will no doubt make appearances, but it's mainly Logan and Rogue and it **will be** a romantic involvement so if you're not a fan of that pairing then you may not like this fic, consider yourself warned! ;o) LOL!

**Special thanks go to 'UKTara' for proofing this for me (again)! **

**Chapter 2: Five Years Later**

"What are you up to?" Rogue whispered teasingly, her smile widening with every passing moment as he led her down the halls of the Xavier Mansion. The blindfold was tied snugly over her eyes, making it impossible to even manage the tiniest glimpse beyond it, she knew they were somewhere on the upper levels because she hadn't gotten that sinking feeling in her stomach when they rode in the elevator. She didn't know what it was about that elevator, but every time she rode down in it she'd nearly been sick, apparently her stomach wasn't as strong as she liked to think it was.

"You'll see," he replied, his voice low and gruff and filled with suspicion. He was enjoying every moment of this and wasn't about to let her discover his plan until he was absolutely ready. He'd been planning this surprise for Rogue for weeks now and had no intensions of letting anything slip.

"Come on," she whined softly, reaching down to seductively stroke his hands that were wrapped lovingly around her tiny waist. He continued to nudge her further down the hall, trying hard not to be swayed by her obvious distractions, "I'll make it worth your while," Rogue tried again, running her fingers teasingly up his wrists feeling the hairs on his arms instantly stand up at her touch.

His step faltered for a moment as he considered her proposition, she certainly could be tempting when she wanted to be. But he quickly collected himself knowing that she was just trying to get a rise out of him so he'd spill his secret, "don't even bother doll," he smirked whispering back into her ear, "you'll never get it out of me, you'll just have to wait and see."

"Fine," she sighed gently, accepting her defeat as she continued to allow him to lead her blindly down the hall. He was careful to guide her gently, never letting her get to close to the walls or trip on the steps, partly because he didn't want her to get hurt as a result of his devious plan, but also in hopes that she wouldn't somehow guess where they were going. He'd spent way too much time planning this evening for her, to let it be spoiled now.

The two continued down the hall of the mansion until finally reaching one of the large etched glass doors at the end, Rogue stopped just short of bumping into it when he whispered gently in her ear, "ok, stop."

"Now what?" She asked with a grin at his secretiveness.

"Wait here," he replied, releasing his hold of her and stepping away.

"Where are you going?" She stretched her arms out in front of her trying to get her bearings as she hoped he was still there for her to grab onto, she didn't like this blindfolded idea, it made her feel incredibly vulnerable.

"Just wait, I'll only be a second," he reached out grabbing both her hands laying them gently at her sides hinting for her to stop panicking and relax.

"But…"

He let out a sigh pinning her arms to her sides hoping this time she would stay put and wait as he asked, "do you trust me?" He asked softly.

Rogue continued to fuss for several more moments until finally she relaxed her hands letting them drop limply to her sides, and with an impatient sigh replied, "you know I do."

"Well then, just trust me and wait here, I promise I won't be long."

As the last syllable left his lips he backed away from her, quietly opening the large door in front of them and disappeared behind it.

Rogue stood out in the hall waiting impatiently for his return and listening to the loud belts of laughter coming from downstairs, undoubtedly from the game room where most of the young kids had gathered after classes to play foosball and pool or just watch TV. She rubbed her hands together nervously, trying to fight the urge to remove the blindfold she still wore reluctantly around her eyes. Her hands slowly massaged one another, rubbing softly up and down her bare arms, in part trying to relive some of the nervousness she was feeling from this whole situation and in part, just enjoying the fact that she was touching skin on skin.

It had been nearly two years since the professor had finally helped her gain control over her mutant powers, but she still found herself every now and then rubbing her bare hands together just enjoying the fact that she no longer had to wear those awful gloves. Thinking back on it, it had seemed like the day may never come when she would be able to control this _curse_ that had been unwillingly placed on her. She'd spent session upon session cooped up in the professor's office, she couldn't even remember how many times had he entered her mind in hopes of somehow leaving a subconscious message behind that would once again give her some control over her life. Then the hypnosis began, when the first bout of sessions didn't work they'd opted for a different route of pure and simple hypnosis. But after a year and a half of that they were finally ready to give up, _she_ was finally ready to give up, obviously it wasn't meant to be for her to have any control over this mutant sentence of loneliness that had been placed on her. Until, finally one day it happened.

She'd been in the gym working on some exercises with Jubilee and Kitty, they were taking turns spotting each other for back flips.

"Ok ok, my turn now!" Jubilee screeched excitedly, "Rogue you spot me."

"Ok," Rogue replied as she took her position next to her friend waiting with outstretched arms incase she needed to catch her.

"One, two, three!" Kitty counted and the second she finished three, Jubilee leapt into the air, flying backward over Rogues outstretched arms and landed with a thud on the other side.

Unfortunately her landing wasn't as perfect as she'd intended and she let out a high pitched shriek losing her balance nearly crashing to the floor. Rogue quickly reached out on a mere reflex to grab her when Jubilee's hand flew out in a panic to grab hold of something and only found the exposed area of skin between where Rogue's glove ended and her shirt began.

"Oh god!" Rogue spat, quickly pulling her arm away from Jubilee's grasp.

"Wait," Jube croaked in a bare whisper, "you didn't hurt me."

Rogue only looked back at her in confusion, how was that possible? She'd held Jubilee's hand for several seconds and it normally only took a moment for her mutation to kick in.

"You're cured Rogie, you're cured!" Kitty shrieked as she proceeded to jump up and down in circles.

"Kitty, you know I hate it when you call me Rogie," she'd argued, trying to comprehend what it was that had just happened.

"No no, I think she's right," Jubilee insisted as she grabbed Rogue's hand tearing the long tan colored glove off, "let's do a test."

"I don't wanna hurt you," she insisted, pulling her hand away from Jubilee, "I'm not _cured_!"

Jubilee's face turned sour as she glared back at Rogue, "look, you're not gonna kill me if we only touch for a few seconds to test it, I'm not afraid of you."

Rogue had no reply, she knew how stubborn Jubes could be when she wanted to, so after a moment of contemplation she finally surrendered and slowly raised her hand out in front of her.

"Ok are you ready?" Jubilee asked, turning to look at Kitty who was standing quietly off to the watching.

"Mmm hmm," Rogue mumbled squeezing her eyes tightly shut so she wouldn't have to watch as she inevitably drained her friend of all her powers.

Only seconds past and the next thing they knew their hands were pressed tightly together, fingers interlocked as thought they held on for dear life.

"Oh my god!" Kitty shrieked after several moments.

Rogue was afraid to open her eyes at first, but then she realized she didn't feel it, that pull, that drain, that life sucking, sickening feeling that came when she was bleeding someone dry. She squeezed her fingers tighter around Jubilee's as if trying to make the pull come, but she still felt nothing, nothing except Jube's soft warm skin against hers. It was amazing, it had been so long since she'd had that feeling and now that she was experiencing it once more it was the most exhilarating thing she ever could've imagined. She just wanted to hold on to that feelin…

"Ok, I'm ready, come on," his voice came suddenly, yanking Rogue out of her dreamy state, she still stood in the middle of the hall, although she still wasn't entirely sure where in the mansion she was exactly and now his hands were on hers. The blindfold was still in place just where he'd left it covering her eyes completely so as not to ruin his surprise. His hands felt warm to the touch as he tugged them gently leading her into the room, the closed the door quietly behind her.

Once she heard the door click shut she asked quietly, "are you ever going to show me what you're up to?" She just loved this side of him, she loved the fact that he wanted to surprise her, it was so unlike him, making it all the more exciting, but at the same time, the suspense was killing her and she _needed_ to know what he was up to.

"Now," he replied softly in her ear as she finally felt the blindfold loosen as it dropped down to hang around her neck.

"Oh god," she breathed in amazement.

"Do you like it?"

It was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen, they were out on the balcony that lead from the upper east wing of the mansion. The entire thing was covered in dripping candles and flowers of every kind, and the smells up there were absolutely incredible, she struggled to take them all in at once. Vanilla, Jasmine, Strawberries and Cream, Lavender, they were all her favorites. In the middle of the balcony stood a small table set for two, draped with a navy satin table cloth and set with the fine china from the dining room. The two chairs at the table were set together instead of across from one another as one might imagine they would be. Off to the side near the railing stood a small table, also covered with a navy cloth but the only item on it was a small CD player which hummed softly with classical music completing the mood.

"It's incredible," Rogue finally managed, her mouth completely dry with amazement. She couldn't believe he'd done all this for her, it was absolutely the most romantic thing she'd ever seen in her entire life.

She reached up wrapping her arms around his neck and squeezed him tightly, "you truly are the most amazing man you know that? I can't believe you did all this."

"For you babe," he smiled back, leaning forward to mesh his lips with hers. God he was glad when she'd finally gotten her mutation under control, he hadn't known how much longer he could stand to be so close to her and yet so far away before she'd finally had her breakthrough. To smell her, to see her across the room, to hear her laugh, everything was like torture when you _knew_ you couldn't reach out for someone.

God she felt good in his arms. He stretched his hands up sinking them deep into her long dark hair, its silkiness almost a turn on in itself as he wrapped his fingers through it pulling her closer to him. They stood there for several moments engrossed in each others embrace, lips and tongues tangled together like webs and arms wrapped tightly around one another never wanting to let go.

But finally he pulled back, trying desperately to catch his breath and gain some control over his raging hormones.

"What's wrong?" She asked raising her eyebrows at him teasingly as she stepped closer to him once again trying to lure him into her embrace, "am I too much for ya?"

"No," he smirked, taking her hands in his, "I just have a lot more planned for tonight than just _that,_ I don't want to get sidetracked, we'll have plenty of time for that later."

Rogue stuck out her bottom lip in a pout, hoping desperately that he'd give in to her charms.

"None of that," he laughed smiling back at her and giving her lip a little nibble before leading her over to the small table set for two, "sit."

She did as she was told, and just as he was slipping the chair forward for her to sit the doors opened and Jubilee walked in, at least she _thought_ it was Jubilee. It looked like her, but she certainly wasn't dressed like her, she wore a modest black skirt that hung just past her knees, very un-Jube-like, she wouldn't be caught dead in something so, "old-womany" as she would've called it. Then she had on a white button up blouse, which was buttoned up all the way to the top. Again, very un-Jube-like, normally if forced to wear a shirt like that she would have as few buttons as possible done up so as to show a maximum amount of cleavage. Her hair was all tied up in a bun, she wore flat shoes, no heel what-so-ever, Rogue didn't even think her friend _had_ any flat shoes, and last of all she was wearing nylons! Now that was unbelievable! Jubilee _hated_ nylons with a passion and refused to wear them under any circumstances, so this alone was enough to tell Rogue that the ruggedly handsome man standing before her must've paid a pretty penny to get Jubilee's help on this particular assignment!

"Don't you say a _word_!" Jubilee growled as she entered the room carrying a silver platter with two dinner plates.

Rogue had to try her best not to giggle at her obvious embarrassment over this. So she just tried to look uninterested for fear that if she paid too much attention to her strangely dressed friend, that she'd surely bust out laughing and probably end up wearing her dinner instead of eating it.

"Will there be anything else sir?" Jubilee forced herself to ask, gritting her teeth tightly together as she laid the plates out on the table.

"Actually my shoes could use a good buffing," he teased with a grin.

Jubilee turned to glare down at him, obviously not impressed with his attempt at being funny. Her expression spoke volumes so he quickly retorted for fear of getting zapped, "no that'll be all miss."

Rogue could see Jubilee's relief as she turned and left the room probably intending to head straight back to her bedroom to change out of those awful clothes.

"I hope you're hungry," he said as he removed the silvery domed lid that covered Rogue's plate of food to reveal a heaping plate of her favorite food, spaghetti.

"Starved," she exclaimed at the sight, "I still can't believe you did all this for me, _and_ you remembered my favorite!" She smiled closing her eyes and breathing in deeply letting the aroma of tomato sauce and parmesan cheese fill her nose.

"Of course I remembered," he grinned, gazing across the table at her and trying to make a mental picture of her in his mind so he could hopefully remember this moment and how beautiful she looked for the rest of his life.

She smiled back at him, her near perfect Hollywood smile radiating her happiness and her eyes twinkling in delight for just being there with him. Her long dark hair shimmered in the moonlight which illuminated the snow white streaks that framed her face so beautifully; he could hardly remember what she'd looked like before she had them. That seemed like an eternity ago now she'd been so young and innocent then. But now, now she was a woman, nearly twenty three years old and so completely irresistible, most times there were together he had to muster up every ounce of his restraint not to ravish her.

God she was beautiful, he couldn't wait any longer, he had to do this now, it was earlier than he'd intended to reveal his big surprise but he didn't care, he had to do it before he lost his nerve.

"Rogue," he croaked softly barely able to find his voice.

"Hmm?" She looked up from her dinner, sucking in a long strand of spaghetti letting his flip around wildly until it finally smacked the end of her nose leaving a dot of red sauce behind and finally disappearing between her ruby red lips.

He only smiled at her, chuckling softly under his breath at her childlike lust for life as he reached across the table to wipe the sauce with his finger, "god I love you," he whispered as he sat back in his seat.

Rogue grinned back at him as she began to wonder what was really going on, this entire evening had been so elaborate and she could sense that there was more to come. From the moment Jubilee had left, he seemed to tense up, like he was nervous about something so finally she asked, "is everything alright?"

He sighed letting a low growl escape partly from nerves and partly from anticipation, "Rogue," he began slowly, taking a deep breath and letting his head drop to look at the floor then back up at her to start again. "Marie, I need to ask you something."

Rogue's nerves were the ones rattling now, he so rarely used her real name and he seemed so serious, his tone, his demeanor, everything about him radiated that this was something important, maybe even something that would change their lives forever. She felt a lump forming in her throat as she struggled to swallow and relax her nerves. "What is it?" She questioned, her voice wavering with emotion.

"I love you Marie," he began again, slower this time as he tried to gather his courage to continue, "after all that's happened in my life I never thought that would be possible for me."

She smiled across at him but said nothing.

But then he stood pushing his chair back away from the table to make some room as he knelt down in front of her taking her hand in his. Her heart leapt, 'could this really be happening?' She wondered silently. 'Was he going to propose?' 'If he did, what would she say?' 'Was this what she wanted?' She could feel her stomach doing back flips inside her and she had to try hard to keep her emotions in check, not wanting to spoil this for him in any way.

Then reaching down into his jacket pocket his hand emerged holding a tiny black velvet box which he popped open revealing a perfect diamond solitaire with a platinum band. She stared down at the beautiful ring resting inside the tiny box when finally he said it, those words every girl dreams of hearing, the words that would make any girl's heart do somersaults, "Marie, will you marry me?"

Her mouth dropped open and a tear rolled down her cheek, she couldn't believe this was actually happening to her and at the same time she couldn't believe that she was hesitating to respond. This was what she wanted, wasn't it? Her mind raced, her heart thudded inside her chest like a base drum as she tried hard to find the right words.

But then suddenly, as if on cue, she heard it. That low rumble she knew all to well. It was deep and throaty, and it penetrated her down to her very core. She hadn't heard that sound in years but it was still so clear in her memory that she couldn't have mistaken it if it had been a thousand years. She knew what that rumble meant, only one motorcycle had a sound like that and it was Scotts, it was unmistakable.

But somehow, as she sat there listening to that all too familiar sound getting closer by the second, something sparked inside her, was it anger? Her heart instantly felt cold as she remembered the last time she'd heard that sound and it was all she could do not to scream at the thought.

"Marie?"

She was suddenly yanked back down to earth from the memories that filled her head and stared blankly at the ruggedly handsome man kneeling in front of her. What was she thinking? 'Get a grip Rogue,' she told herself silently.

She glared angrily over the side of the balcony rail, catching a glimpse of the motorcycle as it pulled into the drive, then quickly shoved all thoughts of that stupid bike and everything it stood for to the furthest parts of her mind. She blocked out its low rumble that had become louder with the passing moment and finally turned back and responded with a smile, "of course I'll marry you, Scott."

**Hope you all enjoyed this chapter as much as (if not more than) the first one! Please remember to review, I LOVE hearing your comments, it keeps me going! Also, any suggestions or constructive criticism is welcomed.**


	3. Logan's Return

**A/N:** Thank you all who have reviewed so far! I'm SOOO happy that you're enjoying this story, and I'm doing my best to keep updating as often as possible! Please keep Reading and Reviewing! I'm SOOOO addicted to reviews! I LOVE hearing what you have to say (good or bad).

**Disclaimer:** I don't own X-men or any of its characters, this is just for fun!

**Characters:** This is a Logan/Rogue fic mostly. The other characters will no doubt make appearances, but it's mainly Logan and Rogue and it **will be** a romantic involvement so if you're not a fan of that pairing then you may not like this fic, consider yourself warned! ;o) LOL!

**Special thanks go to 'UKTara' (again and again) for proofing this for me! **

**Chapter 3: Logan's Return**

Logan had been sitting outside the mansion for over half an hour already, the leather seat of the motorcycle getting colder by the minute and in turn freezing the hell out of his ass.

"Just go inside," he grumbled under his breath, "what the hell are you afraid of? Just get off the god damn bike and open the door."

Logan continued to sit outside on the motorcycle, his own arguments even unable to sway him. He knew what lay on the other side of that door, anger, rejection, disappointment, maybe hatred even, and he wasn't sure he was quite ready to deal with any of it.

Five years he'd been gone, five years he'd traveled the lonely roads of North America, he hadn't called or written and to be completely honest, hadn't really thought about any of these people at all since he'd left. He'd just been so relieved to finally be out of that house, away from all those memories of Jean, away from the people who would undoubtedly be hounding him, wondering if he was ok and how he was doing, forcing him to talk about his feelings. Ugh, just the thought made him nauseas. He couldn't handle that, he was a lone wolf, needing no one and wanting for nothing. He didn't need to be in touch with his _feelings_, and he knew everyone at the school would be trying to convince him otherwise. He just needed time; time to clear his head of all that was Jean, eventually he would be able to move on and - eventually, he did.

The years had been long and lonely, he'd filled his days mostly with traveling, his evenings with cage match after cage match and his nights with any beautiful woman who propositioned him. It wasn't much of a life, but it was familiar and that was enough. Just the fact that no one was demanding more from him than he was wiling to give was enough, the people in these bars didn't care what he did with his time, they didn't care if he drank himself into oblivion or even if he lived to see another day. He didn't owe them anything and they didn't owe him anything, those were the kind of relationships you needed, the kind with no emotional strings attached, no one cared so no one could get hurt. He'd learned his lesson about getting too close to people long ago and he wasn't about to make that mistake again. If you got close then you got hurt, he knew that for sure, and wasn't about to let it happen to him again.

Until.

One night about a week earlier he pulled into a motel and bar somewhere up in northern Canada. He'd been riding for nearly ten hours and his ass ached and burned with a fire he could only imagine coming straight from hell itself. Motorcycles definitely weren't made for long haul riding that was for damn sure. Next time he decided to take off on a whim he'd make sure to steal a jeep or a truck or something comfortable. Something that had heat would be nice too, all these long winter days were starting to take their toll on him, healing factor or not, you can only take blowing snow and ice cold winds in your face for so long before you're just bloody sick of it!

So he finally pulled off into this grungy little motel for the night, but quickly realizing he wasn't going to get any sleep until he got a nice cold beer in him he headed next door to the bar for a nightcap. His boots crunched beneath him as he drudged through the snow toward the front door of the bar, damn it was cold out, he'd give Canada one thing, they definitely had the best scenery around, but the weather left something to be desired.

But as he'd reached to open the door something stopped him, his hand held still, hovering just over the slim steel door handle and his nose began to twitch as he sniffed quickly around. Something wasn't right, he couldn't put his finger on what, something just felt wrong but somehow familiar at the same time. What the hell was it? Letting his hands drop to his sides he turned back to look around, his senses weren't usually wrong and he'd learned to trust them long ago, so if they told him something wasn't right, he was inclined to believe them. But after several laps around the deserted parking lot he came up with nothing, and even though he still couldn't figure why he felt so _off_ about this place he decided to just ignore it and go inside to get his beer.

"Gimme a beer," he growled at the bartender who stood shadowed in the dim light of the rundown pub. His grey thinning hair was long but neatly pulled back into a tight ponytail, his clothes ratty and torn somehow matched the aged tired look of his face, eyes sunken in behind large dark circles, no doubt from many a sleepless night and wrinkles lining his forehead and stretching down both cheeks.

Finally after a moment or two the bartender made his way with a slow limp down toward Logan's end of the bar and handed him his beer, "that'll be five bucks eh," he drawled.

Logan slid the five dollar bill onto the counter without a word and turned to take a sip of his much needed beer. But unfortunately he wouldn't be getting that sip anytime soon.

"Outta my bar freak!" A gruff angry voice shot from behind him, followed closely by the deep click of a gun cocking.

Logan's mind instantly clouded over, flooding with memories as he let his beer drop to the bar with a clunk. What the hell was going on? There were flashes, pictures, memories in his mind, but they flashed by so quickly he could barely tell one from the next. But then they slowed, finally stopping on one in particular, once that he hadn't thought of in years - there she was, he turned to look down the bar. She sat on a wooden barstool only a few feet away, he couldn't see her face really, it was hidden, hidden behind a green cloak of some sort. She was young, it was obvious from the way she sat, almost like she was trying to be invisible. He could see her hands peeking out from the cloak, they rested gently on the bar cradling a glass of water. He watched silently as she fingered the glass ever so gently, then she turned - wait - he could see her face now. God, had she really been that young when they first met? Yeah, that's right, she was only seventeen at the time. She looked so frightened, though he could tell she was doing her best to hide it, trying to look confident, strong even, but he knew better. He watched her silently for several…

"I said!" That same gruff, burley voice came again, shocking Logan from his memory, "get outta my bar _freak_!"

The man stepped a little closer pressing the barrel of the gun firmly into Logan's left temple. And that's when it came to him, that's what he had sensed was so wrong with this place when he'd come in, there wasn't anything _wrong_ with it, it was just that he knew it. This was the bar where he'd first met Rogue. Fuck! How could he have forgotten that? How could he have forgotten _her_?

Then the thought came to him, 'had he in fact, _forgotten_ her'?

He sat there for a moment, paralyzed almost, not because of the shot gun pointed directly at his head, but because he honestly couldn't remember the last time he'd thought about Rogue, honestly _thought_ about her. Memories of the past five years flooded his head as he wracked his brain trying to find a trace of her - somewhere - anywhere, but he came up with nothing. Somewhere along the way - he'd lost her.

"Hey buddy, are you alright?" The man finally lowered the shot gun, realizing that his threats were obviously getting him no where with this guy, and he took a step back from Logan waiting for him to respond.

After several moments Logan slowly rose from the stool and turned to walk out of the bar, but not before giving the bartender and the man with the gun a deep threatening growl, just to let them know he wasn't leaving out of intimidation, he was leaving of his own free will.

When he arrived back at his room he instantly began throwing his few belongings back into his bag, he'd leave first thing in the morning, he had to see her.

-

Still sitting outside the mansion on the motorcycle, Logan finally got up, kicked the kickstand down and walked toward the front door where he stood for several moments hesitating to knock.

"Fuck, don't be such a pansy," he grumbled under his breath, finally reaching up to pound his fist on the large oak door.

Only moments later the doors swung open, he half expected to see Rogue standing there, her face lit up with that brilliant smile, ready to welcome him home with a hug. But he knew that was never going to happen after the way they'd left things, so he wasn't really surprised when Storm welcomed him inside.

"Logan," she said, he voice filled with surprise, but pleasant just the same.

"Hey Storm," he replied, stepping in out of the cold and dropping his bag to the floor with a thud.

"Wow, you're certainly the last person I expected to see on my doorstep tonight," she said as she slipped his bag over against the wall with her foot, then turned back to face him with her trademark welcoming smile, "but it sure is good to see you."

Storm stepped closer, pulling him reluctantly into a hug, "yeah," he grunted patting her on the back uncomfortably and trying his best to get out of her embrace without hurting her feelings. "So how're things 'round here?"

"Good," she smiled, "everyone's really good, come on, follow me, we can catch up while I show you to the guest room."

Logan only nodded, picking up his large brown canvas bag off the floor and followed her up the stairs, all the while listening to her chat away about many of the goings on around the school. Bobby leaving to go off to med school, the professor's continued attempts to find Magneto, her new relationship with Night Crawler, just to name a few.

"Wow," Logan said softly when they finally arrived in the guest room, "sounds like it's been busy around here." He dropped his bag on the floor next to the bed and proceeded to scope out the rest of the room, a routine he'd become accustomed to since returning to the road, you never could tell who might be hiding out, just waiting to ambush you when you least expected it.

Once completing a full round, being sure to check the closet and the bathroom including the tub and shower he returned to the bedroom where Storm stood waiting, "thanks," he mumbled uncomfortably, not really sure what else to say. He wanted to ask about Rogue, was she alright? Or was she even still here? But he couldn't bring himself to say the words, he really had no interest in having that conversation with Storm, you know, the one where she told him what an asshole he was for leaving the way he did. Or how he was an asshole for not calling or writing all this time. Or how he was an asshole for some reason or another, really it all boiled down to the same thing, and he knew it. So he wasn't about to start anything with Storm, if he was going to have the 'asshole conversation' with anyone, he wanted it to be with Rogue.

Logan and Storm stood in silence for several moments, neither seemed to know what to say until finally Storm broke the deafening silence that had filled the room.

"Well I'll let you get settled then, see you in the morning Logan."

"Yeah," he replied feeling relieved that she didn't want to talk anymore. He'd been alone on the road for so long, the past half hour with Storm was the most talking he'd done with anyone in weeks and it was exhausting.

But unfortunately he wasn't going to get off quite so easily, just before she stepped out into the hall Storm turned back to look at Logan, her face suddenly serious, void of any humor, "oh and Logan," she hesitated for a moment, sighing gently before finishing, "don't mess things up for her, ok?"

He only looked back at her in silence as she turned and left the room. She never said _who _she was referring too, but she didn't have to, he knew, and she knew he did.

"What the hell am I doin' back here?" Logan grumbled to himself as he fell back to lie on the bed. He ran his fingers up through his disheveled hair and then back down scrubbing them over his face and eyes, he couldn't believe that he was back in that place; he'd swore he'd never go back. But then he remembered that night in Laughlin City, the night he'd remembered Rogue, and he remembered why he was there. He at least needed to see her again, to at least know that she was alright, safe. Then if he needed to leave again, or if she wanted him to leave again, he would.

Several hours later Logan awoke, he looked sleepily around the room, trying to get his bearings, almost forgetting where he was. He glanced over at the clock, "holy shit," he mumbled, sitting up on the bed, it was nearly midnight already. He hadn't intended to fall asleep, but his body obviously had other ideas. He quickly got up off the bed and crossed the room to the bathroom to splash some water in his face and try to fix his wind massacred hair. Squishing a blob of hair gel into the palm of his hand, he quickly mashed it around, letting it ooze between his fingers and finally rubbing it vigorously through his hair. The end product was something of a piece of art, slicked on the sides and down the back, with two perfect horn style spikes on top depicting his Wolverine alter ego. Midnight or not, he wasn't about to wander around the mansion looking like he'd just been in a train wreck.

Back in the bedroom he rummaged through his duffle finally pulling out a clean, or at least slightly cleaner, pair of jeans and a white wife beater, he quickly changed, throwing his laundry in a heap on the floor and headed out into the deserted hall.

Man that place was quiet at night, he'd forgotten the way you could hear a pin drop once all the kids had gone to bed. He'd always liked wandering the halls late at night or in the wee hours of the morning, seemed it was the only time a guy could get any real peace.

Up and down the halls he stalked, past door after door of sleeping teens and children, past the professor's suite, and what used to be Bobby and John's old room and finally past Jeans room which he imagined was probably just Scotts now. He paused for only a moment when he passed by Jean's old door, but then continued on in the deafening silence that filled the entire mansion.

When he reached the top of the stairs, heading back to his room, his nose began to twitch wildly as he searched for the source of the scent that had suddenly filled it and his ears pricked up catching the sound of something oddly familiar. He continued down the hall following the scent as it grew stronger and stronger with each step, he was sure to tread lightly trying hard not to make a sound and wake any of the kids so he was surprised when a voice called out to him from one of the rooms at the end of the hall.

"I know you're there."

The voice came only as a whisper but he knew who it was, he would have recognized it anywhere, it had been five years since he'd heard it but it wouldn't have mattered if it had been a thousand, he would have recognized it anyway.

He continued down the hall finally arriving outside the last door on the right, which was slightly ajar barely allowing the bedroom light to leak out into the hall. He pushed on it lightly and it creaked slowly open, revealing a young woman sitting on the bed, her back leaning up against the headboard, knees pulled tightly up in front of her and arms wrapped snugly around them. Her pale blue satin pajamas glimmered softly in the dull light coming from the small lamp that rested on her night table, her long dark hair brushing softly over her knees and down her arms while her brown eyes flickered with emotion when she saw him standing in the doorway.

Neither said a word.

Rogue sat motionless on the bed, her thoughts and emotions in a whirlwind around her, all mixing together unable to tell one from the next, she tried desperately but couldn't grasp onto a single thought.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, but was surely only several moments, Logan spoke up, "hey kid," he said, trying to give her one of his patented Logan smirks in hopes of lightening the moment.

"Hey," she replied, resting her chin on her knees as he stepped further into the room.

"So, uh…" he struggled to find the right words, fuck the right words, he struggled to find _any_ words. Not knowing what else to say he ventured closer to the bed and when she didn't argue he finally sat at the end to look across at her.

Damn she'd gotten beautiful. He could hardly believe it was the same girl he'd left here all those years ago. Overall she looked the same, same long dark hair although it may be a bit shorter now, he wasn't really sure, same snow white streaks framing her face, same ruby red lips, and the same tiny girlish frame, although it had definitely filled out since he'd last seen her. But as much the same, she was equally different, no longer a girl but a woman.

Realizing he was gawking at her he cleared his throat uncomfortably and asked, "so how've you bin?"

"Meh," she replied uncertainly, barely able to meet his gaze. He'd been gone for so long, and then just suddenly appeared in her doorway, how was she supposed to feel about that? For two years she'd prayed every night that he'd come back to her, two years she'd held Scott at bay for fear of getting too close, two years she'd harbored unrequited feelings for this man in front of her. But now –

The silence was becoming too much and Logan began to wonder if it was too late, if he was too late, she seemed so distant, her body was there but her heart and soul were someplace else, someplace where she wouldn't have to deal with him. He couldn't smell her like he usually could. Before whenever they were together he could sense her arousal all around him, covering him like a soft blanket, he'd never really thought about it before but now that he couldn't feel that part of her, he knew he missed it. Now all he sensed was hurt and all he could smell was her perfume, there was no desire, no arousal, only tension.

He stood from the bed preparing to leave, she obviously needed time and he wasn't going to pressure her. Taking a couple steps away from the bed he turned back locking his eyes with hers, "I'm sorry kid," he sighed quietly, then turned back towards the door.

Just before he was out of sight Rogue cleared her throat and replied softly, "me too."

He looked back before passing through the doorway giving her small smile, it was barely noticeable but it spoke volumes.

-

She'd been sitting on her bed for nearly two hours since he'd left. Just thinking. His scent still lingered in the air, sweet cigars, a musky sweat and a hint of alcohol, it was unmistakably Logan and as hard as she tried to ignore it, it was somehow comforting. Familiar, even though it had been so long since she'd smelled it. She wanted to be angry, she wanted to be furious with him, hate him even for all the hurt he'd caused her. But she couldn't. As hard as she tried, the moment he'd stepped into the light of her doorway, she knew she wouldn't be able to stay mad forever.

She got up off the bed slowly heading toward the door and out into the hall, down the long corridor careful not to make a sound so as not too wake anyone, until she found herself standing outside Logan's door. There she stood for several moments, not really sure what she was doing, but at the same time knowing she couldn't go back to her room, not yet.

"Come on in darlin'," the deep husky voice finally came from the other side of the door.

Rogue smiled to herself, she'd forgotten about his keen sense of smell, he'd probably known she was there the moment she started down the hall. Realizing she'd been caught she finally opened the door to see Logan lying on the bed, covered only with a single white sheet, his bare chest exposed, arms folded up behind his head and a knowing smirk on his face, "what took ya so long?"

She only smiled shyly, settling into the cushiony leather chair opposite the bed, she pulled her knees up in front of her and tucked her feet down beside the cushions.

"So?" He finally asked when she only sat there in silence.

"How have you been?" Rogue whispered softly, her voice barely a whisper.

"Alright I guess," Logan replied, trying to sound as normal as possible in hopes of steering this conversation in a more normal direction. "Been traveling a lot."

"Canada?"

"Mostly. Was up in Alaska for a while, but it was too damn cold."

Rogue chuckled softly to herself finally letting a smile escape. A cold shiver ran through her entire body as she rested her chin on her knees and wrapped her arms tightly around them in an effort to warm up. Logan noticed and immediately tossed a small wool blanket over to her which she wasted no time in wrapping around herself.

"Thanks," she whispered, still feeling a little odd about the whole situation.

"So how have things been around here?"

"Pretty good I guess."

Logan's eyebrow raised in typical Logan fashion and the corner of his mouth curled up into a smirk as he asked, "so are you a full blown X-Man now?" His voice was filled with sarcasm as he pictured them all piling into the jet headed off on some lame adventure.

"Yeah sort of," she replied hesitantly, "I've been on a few recon missions, but the professor's pretty protective so he never lets me go on any of the exciting ones."

The room fell silent once again and the two just sat there watching each other carefully, both wondering what the other was thinking but to afraid to ask.

Finally Rogue broke the silence, her voice cracking with nerves as she spoke, "why did you come back?"

Logan hesitated to answer, unsure of whether to be honest with her or not, but then figuring he had nothing to lose he just came right out with it, "because of you."

After a comment like that she found it hard to suppress her rising emotions any longer and a tear escaped, trickling down her cheek, she quickly brushed it away but Logan noticed it anyway.

The two sat and talked a while longer, he told her about his travels and some of the people he'd met along the way, while she filled him in on some of the new mutants to move into the mansion, the new things she'd been up to but all the while, careful not to mention Scott or the ring he'd placed on her finger earlier that evening. Somehow she just wasn't ready for that conversation yet.

By the time the sun rose Rogue had passed out in the chair, completely unaware of the watchful eyes that looked over her. He never moved, just sat completely still and silent on the bed watching her sleep. She looked so peaceful he didn't dare disturb her, though he knew she'd be more comfortable in her own bed, something told him she wanted to stay there. Or maybe _he_ wanted her to stay there.

**Hope you all enjoyed this installment! I should have chapter 4 up soon!**


	4. The Morning After

**A/N:** Thank you all who have reviewed so far! I'm SOOO happy that you're enjoying this story, and I'm doing my best to keep updating as often as possible! Please keep Reading and Reviewing! I'm SOOOO addicted to reviews! I LOVE hearing what you have to say (good or bad).

**Disclaimer:** I don't own X-men or any of its characters, this is just for fun!

**Characters:** This is a Logan/Rogue fic mostly (with some Scott/Rogue). The other characters will no doubt make appearances, but it's mainly Logan and Rogue and it **will be** a romantic involvement so if you're not a fan of that pairing then you may not like this fic, consider yourself warned! ;o)

**Also: **For the purpose of this chapter and the rest of this story, let's just assume that the time Logan and Rogue spent at the mansion before Liberty Island was considerably longer than shown in the movie. Maybe they even were at the mansion for a while when Logan returned after his first visit to Alkali Lake before Stryker attacked in X2.

**And…** The paragraphs in _italics_ are memories.

**Chapter 4: The morning after…**

The next morning Rogue awoke to find herself still curled up in the leather chair in Logan's room, she pulled the blue and green striped blanket up around her neck and shifted her weight hoping the numbness in her butt would go away.

Her gaze slowly lifted when she caught sight of him out of the corner of her eye, in the furthest parts of her mind she truly thought last night had all been a dream, he hadn't _really_ come back, not _really,_ she'd only imagined it. But now she couldn't deny it, there he was, before he very eyes, stretched out under that white sheet across the room, the sunlight bathing him in a surreal orange glow. His arms were stretched up over his head, which was cocked slightly to the side with his nose resting gently on his bicep.

Several times she saw him flinch as though he were in the middle of a nightmare or something, but then only moments later he'd settle and continue to sleep peacefully. She tried to think back, tried to remember a time when she'd seen him sleep so soundly. As far as she could think she'd never seen him this way, before Jean died he'd been having nightmares every single night. After a while she'd lost count of how many times she'd come into his room to wake him from some horrible dream of drowning in a glass tub or liquid metal being pumped into him like someone was basting a turkey.

She'd learned quickly that there were better ways to wake a sleeping animal than sneaking up on him in the dark. Eventually she'd discovered that standing somewhere near the end of the bed, well out of arms, and more importantly, claws reach, was a much better and safer place to wake the Wolverine from a nightmare. She actually came to love those nights, she'd lie awake in bed, just waiting for the inevitable grunts and growls that would come from down the hall, and when they finally did she would slip ever so quietly out of bed and tip toe down the corridor into his room.

She'd usually bring him a beer when she came, it hadn't taken long for her to discover where he kept his stash, being a school the professor would never allow him to keep beer in the kitchen. So when she'd stumbled upon his secret beer storage spot one day, she figured what better way to sooth the beast when he'd just woken from a night of torture. At first he'd looked at her in complete disbelief, partly shocked that his young friend just handed him a beer and partly in amazement that she would know _exactly_ what he needed.

They'd both come to find comfort in one another after that. He'd have a nightmare, she'd inevitably wake him up, hand him a beer and curl up on the bed beside him while they chatted about whatever was going on around the school. Usually it was all nonsense that Logan couldn't have cared less about, but somehow when it came to Rogue it didn't matter, if it was important to her then he made the time to listen. Usually he'd wake up in the late morning to find her nestled in close beside him, her dark hair all tussled about and pajama pants pushed up above her knees from a night of tossing and turning. He'd try his hardest to slip out from her grip, but she'd inevitably wake up before he got very far, making him feel incredibly guilty for even trying to leave and he'd end up lying back down until she finally relented to let him go shower.

"_Stryker again?" Rogue asked softly, as she stepped lightly across the cold bedroom floor toward the bed, her yellow pajama bottoms swishing against one another as she walked._

_Logan only grunted, still not completely awake from his nightmare as he rubbed his eyes then ran his fingers up through his unruly hair and down to scrub them over his face. God he hated that feeling, it was always the same, after every nightmare he'd wake up with this feeling through his entire body. It was like a dull ache that penetrated him straight through to the bone, it was almost nauseating and it was definitely a feeling that he wasn't used to in everyday life. His healing factor had made him pretty much immune to any sort of illness so he'd never suffered the flu or a sinus cold or anything that ordinary people would deal with. So when he woke up feeling this way every night he imagined there couldn't possibly be anything worse. Fuck he needed a beer._

"_Here," Rogue smiled handing him a beer as though she'd somehow read his mind._

"_Thanks kid," he replied, taking the beer and sliding over in bed to make room for her to sit down, which she did without hesitation. This nightly routine had become so familiar and comfortable that she didn't even think twice about jumping onto his bed anymore. _

_She found herself a comfy spot in the usual place at the end of the bed and crossed her legs beneath her watching him intensely as he popped open the beer and took a long swig, nearly devouring the entire thing._

"_So how's school?" Logan asked, placing the bottle on the nightstand._

"_Alright I guess," Rogue replied, staring down at the blankets and tracing her finger over them in invisible hearts._

"_Place seems alright," he grumbled, his voice low and deep, "you gonna stick around for a while?"_

_Rogue hesitated to answer, finally lifting her gaze to meet his, she only wanted to stay if _he_ was staying. What good was being in a great school, having a great room, great friends, and finally fitting in with a "family" for the first time in who knows how long, if you couldn't be with, or at least near the one person you wanted more than anything in the entire world? _

_Finally she replied, "are you?"_

"_I promised I'd take care of you, didn't I?"_

_His response wasn't _really_ an answer, not _really_, but she was just so glad to hear him say it, she didn't care. She immediately flew across the bed with a smile, nuzzling herself under his arm, up against the white T-shirt that covered his chest. He'd started wearing T's to bed ever since she'd been coming to see him at night, she always ended up next to him and after the last few encounters they had, skin to skin, they were careful not to repeat the past._

"_Yeah you did," she whispered back, just content to be there with him. Even though it wasn't sexual, or romantic in any way, it was the most she could ask of him, and the fact that he was willing to give her this much was enough to nearly make her heart burst. Contentment washed over her like a wave as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep in his arms._

_He turned to look down at her, her dark hair and white streaks falling loosely over her face making her look almost angelic as she drifted off into dreams. He reached down pulling the covers up over her sleeping body then he himself relaxed and eventually returned to a dreamless sleep, one he only seemed to get when she was there._

After watching him sleep for nearly half an hour Rogue finally got up out of the chair and stepped quietly over to the bed, god she missed those days. Just the comfort of having someone who understood you, I mean _really_ understood you, a person could live happily if they had that, if they had _only _that.

Logan stirred in his sleep and she told herself that it was time to go, she'd been there long enough, but somehow couldn't make her feet walk to the door. Instead they took her around the other side of the bed where she climbed up onto it, taking her usual spot at the end, leaning up against the footboard and crossing her legs beneath her. There she would wait.

"Morning sunshine," Rogue smiled when Logan finally rolled over to look at her sitting on the bed next to him.

"What time is it?" He asked groggily.

"Almost ten thirty."

"Hmm... old habits die hard hey?" Logan smirked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Looks that way," she grinned back, "d'you sleep well?"

Logan looked around the room in confusion, he _had_ slept well, that _never_ happened to him, "yeah - actually," he mumbled scratching his head and scrubbing his fingers over his sideburns and five o'clock shadow that was quickly becoming more of a beard than a shadow. "You?"

"I slept in a chair," she replied sarcastically, then giving him a wry smile finished, "but considering, yeah I did actually." She ran her fingers up through her hair letting it fall loosely around her shoulders, then turned to slide off the bed, "I'm gonna go shower and get ready, I'll see you later, k?"

Logan said nothing, but just as she was about to pass through the door he stopped her, "hey kid."

She turned back to look at him, resting her head against the doorframe as she scratched the back of her left calf with her other foot, "yeah?"

"Have you _really_ been ok?" His expressionless face stared over at her, there were no raised eyebrows, no cocky smirk, no grunts or growls to indicate any emotions, but somehow his look spoke volumes and Rogue finally knew why he'd _really_ come back.

"_I'll take care of you."_

"_You promise?"_

"_Yeah, yeah I promise."_

"Yeah," she replied with a small smile, "yeah, I've been alright."

He only nodded as she turned and left the room.

-

"Well good morning!" Storm smiled cheerfully when Scott walked into the kitchen.

"Hey," he replied, heading to the fridge for something to drink.

"So?" She asked, her smile widening with every passing moment as she stood leaning against the counter waiting to hear his news of the previous evening.

"So, what?" He cocked his eyebrow at her knowing full well what she was getting at.

"Sooooo, did you ask her? What did she say?" Storm smiled excitedly lifting herself up with her arms to sit on the counter, her black leather pants pulling tightly around her figure and her long white hair falling over her shoulders and down her chest as she did.

Scott turned to look back at her, his serious expression melting away and curling up into a rather large grin. He said nothing but he didn't have to, she knew what he was telling her and she instantly flew off the counter, throwing her arms around his neck squeezing him tightly, "oh, I'm so excited for you!" She shrieked.

"Uh thanks," he groaned trying desperately to escape from her embrace.

"So, was she excited? What did she say?"

"Yeah she was excited, she's a girl who's about to get married, I'm not an authority on these things but I'm pretty sure that's how it usually works."

Strom just looked back at him, rolling her eyes at his sarcasm as she smacked him playfully on the arm. "Do you want some breakfast?" She finally asked ignoring how blasé he was being about the whole thing and opening the fridge to pull out the bacon and eggs.

"Breakfast sounds great," a gruff voice came from around the corner.

Scott swung around when he heard Logan's low husky voice enter the room, "Logan!" He exclaimed in surprise.

"Hey One Eye," Logan remarked sarcastically, leaning up against the doorframe with a smirk. His faded, slightly soiled blue jeans snugly hugged his muscular legs while the perfectly shined silver belt buckle reflected the bright florescent lights that filled the kitchen, a green shirt was loosely draped over a white T-shirt and of course his trademark boots added to complete the package.

"When did you get back?" Scott asked, trying hard to hide his discomfort with the man standing in front of him.

"Last night."

Scott only grunted, barely acknowledging Logan's response as he turned back to the fridge to grab the orange juice.

Storm stood quietly off to the side watching the two men disregard each other. Finally after several moments in an uncomfortable silence she piped up to ask cheerfully, "so who wants bacon and eggs? Logan? Scott?"

Both nodded in approval but neither said a word.

"Well alrighty then," she breathed uncomfortably, looking for a way to break the tension, "I'll just start breakfast then."

Meanwhile, upstairs Rogue stepped out of the shower into the steam filled bathroom, she could barely see through the think wet fog that had engrossed the entire room and covered the mirror with its residue.

"Damn it," she swore quietly under her breath, tip toeing across the cold tile floor to flick on the fan. The professor was always on her case for forgetting to turn that thing on, the pale yellow paint was actually starting to bubble as a result of her long hot showers everyday and negligence in turning on the fan.

Rubbing a large grey towel over her entire body she quickly dried off and slipped on her white terrycloth robe and went to pick out the days clothes. Finally settling on a pair of black jeans, a snug white tank and a black button up shirt left open over top, she headed downstairs for breakfast.

As she approached the kitchen she could hear Scott and Logan's voices coming from inside as they shot snide remarks at one another unaware that she was only a few feet away. She stopped dead in her tracks out in the hall realizing that this was it, 'God,' she thought to herself, 'she hadn't told Logan about her and Scott last night, what if Scott already told him? Or even worse, what if he hadn't told him and he went to kiss her when she came in the kitchen? How would she explain that?'

She contemplated just turning around right then and there, going back upstairs, deal with this situation later, but she wouldn't be so lucky, just as she was about to turn back Scotts voice startled her as he poked his head out of the kitchen.

"Hey babe, how's my wife to be this morning?" He smiled coming out into the hall to wrap her in a warm good morning hug, but her stomach did a flip at his words.

"Good, I'm good," she forced the words out in a mere whisper, hoping against hope that Logan hadn't heard them talking. She hugged Scott back quickly but then tried desperately to escape from his hold without him noticing or hurting his feelings. The last thing she wanted was for him to think she was acting weird because Logan was back in town, but at the same time, the last thing she wanted was for Logan to find out about all this in the _wrong_ way.

"You hungry?" He asked, "Storm's making breakfast."

"Sounds great."

Scott reached out grabbing her hand in his but she quickly pulled away, "what's the matter?" He asked raising an eyebrow at her.

"Sorry," she sighed, "It's nothing, I've just felt a little off this morning, having trouble keeping my skin under control for some reason." She looked up at him but was unable to meet his gaze, she was lying through her teeth and she knew it.

He stared back at her for several moments trying to read her expression, wondering if she was being straight with him, but finally he just smiled and replied, "oh, I hope you're not getting a cold."

Rogue smiled with relief, finally looking up to meet his stare through the ruby red lenses of his glasses, "yeah I hope not."

The two stepped into the kitchen and Rogue's heart raced wondering what she would find there, what comments would be thrown around? What did Logan already know? What would she say if he already knew? Her head spun and she almost felt nauseous, but she forced a smile and followed close behind Scott, prepared to take on whatever the morning brought her way.

"I thought you said Storm was making breakfast?" Rogue asked as they entered the kitchen only to find it deserted. Three eggs still sat on the counter just waiting to be tossed into the frying pan that lay on the stove, the milk quickly growing warm out next to the fridge, bacon package lying open on the counter in a puddle of pork juice that was slowly leaking out of the wrapper. The room was quiet and still, almost as though its inhabitants had fled in a great hurry.

"Yeah, well I thought she was," Scott replied in confusion, looking around the room, then out into the other hall to see where Storm and Logan had gotten too. "That's okay, I'll make breakfast," he grinned, coming up behind her to wrap his arms snugly around her tiny waist as he gave her a peck on the cheek.

She turned her head to the side to look up at him, his chin resting on her shoulder, "ya know what, I'm actually not that hungry," she smiled, trying to hide her discomfort.

"Are you sure everything's alright, you don't seem yourself this morning?"

"Yeah I'm fine, just didn't sleep that well last night that's all."

Scott gazed over at her, his face filled with a loving glow and though she couldn't see his eyes through the heavy red tint of his glasses, she knew they were smiling too. 'God! What the hell was the matter with her?' She scolded herself silently as she looked back at him, 'this was the man she loved.'

After a moment Rogue turned around to face Scott, she took his hands in hers and smiled, genuinely this time, "I'm gonna take a walk ok?" She said softly, "try and clear my head a little."

He stared back down at her and she could tell it was taking all his will power not to ask if she wanted some company, "k, I'll be in the garage repairing the damage Logan no doubt did to my bike."

She smirked at the thought, he was probably right, that poor bike had been from one side of the continent to the other, it was surely in need of a tune up, or who knows, maybe ready for the scrap heap.

"I'll see you later ok," she smiled wider leaning in to kiss him passionately, her tongue slipping gently between his lips, which he wasted no time in accepting.

He didn't reply, just watched silently as she turned and walked out of the kitchen.

Rogue had only been gone a few minutes when the professor came in. His wheel chair was buffed and shined to perfection as usual, black suit pressed, white shirt starched and ironed, black dress shoes polished to a perfect shine and a look on his face that told Scott none of those things mattered right now because something bigger was about to happen.

"What's wrong professor?" Scott asked at seeing the distressed look on his old mentors face.

"Gather the group," he replied shortly.

Scott only stared back at the professor trying to find some explanation for his strange mood, obviously something was up, probably a mission would ensue, but the professor was never so cold or short when he gave orders, this must be serious.

The wheelchair rotated around and the professor headed back out into the hall, but before he was out of sight he silently relayed to Scott via his mind, "I've found Magneto".

Scott's hesitation instantly melted away and he immediately turned to go find the others.


	5. Overheard

**A/N:** Thank you all who have reviewed so far! I'm SOOO happy that you're enjoying this story, and I'm doing my best to keep updating as often as possible! Please keep Reading and Reviewing! I'm SOOOO addicted to reviews! I LOVE hearing what you have to say (good or bad).

**P.S.** I'm trying to update as often as I can, but I'm trying really hard not to rush this, I've made that mistake before and just end up spewing out crap that no one wants to read. So I'm doing my best to turn out good chapters and do it in a timely fashion. Thanks again for reading!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own X-men or any of its characters, this is just for fun!

**Characters:** This is a Logan/Rogue fic mostly (with some Scott/Rogue). The other characters will no doubt make appearances, but it's mainly Logan and Rogue and it **will be** a romantic involvement so if you're not a fan of that pairing then you may not like this fic, consider yourself warned! ;o)

**Also:** FYI, this chapter begins a few minutes BEFORE the end of the last chapter (hopefully it's not confusing).

**Chapter 5: Overheard **

_A few minutes before the professor came into the kitchen…_

"So'd you fill up my bike before you brought it back?" Scott asked snidely, glaring over at Logan who was devouring the bowl of peanuts that sat on the counter.

Logan only glanced up at him not bothering to acknowledge the remark.

"If you damaged that thing, so help god Logan…" Scott spat angrily at Logan's dismissal of him.

"You'll what?" Logan growled, only looking up from the bowl of nuts long enough to give him an evil glare.

Scott opened his mouth to quickly retort but stopped short before anything came out, his eyes shifted from Logan over to the open kitchen door. Figuring he'd deal with the Wolverine later he shoved past him and went out into the hall leaving Logan and Storm alone and confused in the kitchen. Logan looked over at her raising an eyebrow wondering if she had any clue what had just happened, Scott was never one to back down from a fight, especially with Logan, a good sparing match always did them both good, kept them on their toes verbally, you never know when you're gonna need a good comeback.

"Hey babe, how's my wife to be this morning?" Logan heard Scott say when he stepped out into the hall. He quickly looked back at Storm for answers but she only looked away pretending to be involved in making eggs, but really trying to avoid the obvious confrontation that was to come.

Logan barely had a chance to ask, "who's he…" when he got his answer.

A soft, gentle female voice came quickly after, "good, I'm good." The words were quiet, a bare whisper even, but unmistakable just the same. He quickly snapped up to look at Storm again, hoping for some sort of explanation, but she only brushed past him walking out of the room.

"Storm?" He asked in confusion.

She turned for only a moment before passing through the door into the opposite hall, "I'm sorry Logan," she replied softly not able to meet his stare, then turned and left only leaving the faintest scent of her perfume lingering in the air.

"You hungry?" He heard Scotts voice come again, "Storm's making breakfast."

"Sounds great," Rogue replied.

Logan only stood there in the kitchen for another moment, she sounded strange he thought, something in her voice was different, but he wasn't about to stick around to find out what, he could tell they were coming in so he quickly bolted out the other door before they saw him.

Down the halls of the mansion he stalked, his blood boiling with every passing moment, he needed to get out of there and he needed to get out of there now! Shoving his hand deep into his pocket as he continued towards down the hall, he finally emerged with a crisp cigar which he rammed into his mouth grinding down on it with his teeth. His fingers went through the motions to strike a match as he cupped his palm around the end of the cigar holding the flame there for several moments, all the while not losing a step.

He slammed through the front doors and trudged down the sidewalk and out past the garage, Scott's bike still sat where he'd left it on the driveway the night before. Just seeing that god damn thing made him furious with rage and without even thinking he struck out with his leg giving it a solid boot to the carburetor and sending the bike flying down onto the pavement.

Logan didn't stop, he just kept moving, the further away from that house he was the better, "Fuck!" he growled, ripping the cigar out of his teeth to flick the ash at the ground, then bit down hard on it again.

Finally he settled on one of the benches out near the frozen pond, the professor had constantly ragged on him to spend more time out there, to try and get in touch with his "feelings", so he said. 'Fuck that,' Logan had thought, but now here he was, sitting on that bloody bench, thinking about 'feelings' of all things. He ran his fingers up through his hair, then down over his face, God damn it this place had turned him into a pansy, he never should've come back, what the hell was he doing here?

"Logan?"

That soft, sweet southern voice came from behind him interrupting his thought and he jerked back to look up at her. There she was, the reason he'd come back to this _place_ at all, but somehow now he was finding it extremely hard to even look at her.

"Whatcha' doin'?" she asked, her voice sweet and smooth just as it had been that morning when he'd woken to find her sitting at the end of his bed, just like she had all those years ago.

"Uh nothin'," he grunted, sliding over to make room for her on the bench, "you?"

"Nothin'," she replied in similar Logan fashion as she sat down next to him, "just needed to clear my head I guess."

"Got a lot goin' on in there do ya?"

She smirked over at him, brushing her hair back over her shoulder and sending a wave of her scent washing over Logan. Damn she smelled good, just the perfect blend of coconut shampoo, vanilla body spray and that girlish scent that was unmistakably Marie. He closed his eyes, breathing her in.

"Yeah I guess," she finally replied.

He only nodded.

They sat in silence for several minutes, both thinking the same things, but neither feeling brave enough to start that inevitable conversation that was to come. She wished she'd told him last night, she'd wished Scott had told him this morning before she came downstairs, she wished… she wished… she wished he'd never left all those years ago – would she even have something to tell him if he hadn't been gone all this time? Would she even be sitting her on this bench with him trying to find the right words?

God she wished he would say something so she wouldn't have to.

"So are you gonna tell me kid, or do I have to find out from someone else?" Logan finally asked, forcing a trademark Logan smirk trying to make light of the situation.

Rogue slowly turned to look back at him, then her eyes dropped to the snowy ground beneath their feet, "you know," she breathed, forcing herself to get the words out, "don't you?"

For a moment he sat silent, every passing moment torturing her to no end. Finally she forced herself to rip her stare from the ground below and look up at him.

When she finally met his gaze he replied, "why didn't you tell me last night?" His voice was sullen and soft, very un-Logan-like, it was scary almost, usually he was so confident and strong that it radiated off of him, but now, now he was different, almost a shell of what she'd always known him to be. Had she done this to him with her own selfish motives?

"I'm sorry," she apologized, struggling to hold back the tears that were burning her eyes trying to escape, "I didn't know how."

He looked up at her in amazement and his hands began to tremble, he quickly clenched his fists to stop it, "after all we've been through and you didn't know how to tell me _this_?"

She could hear the disappointment in his voice as he spoke and she knew why. They'd been everything to each other all those years ago, unlikely companions, brought together by sheer fluke, but bonded by an unbreakable friendship. Of all the people in the world that she should have been excited to tell about her engagement, Logan should have been the first, but she'd hesitated – why?

"You've been gone so long," she finally managed to choke out a reply. "You showed up in my doorway last night just out of the blue and everything I've known for the past five years flew right out the window Logan."

He looked up at her, but said nothing, his face still filled with hurt and no sign that he was understanding what he was trying to say, so she went on.

"Do you have any idea what you left behind here when you took off all those years ago?"

He only stared back at her in silence.

"A shell," she finished, her voice becoming stronger with every passing moment. The more Rogue talked to him the more confident she felt to finally voice her feelings about all that had been going on inside her. He'd left her, she hadn't left him, she'd been here waiting for _him_ all this time and she'd been angry as hell doing it. From the moment he'd walked out of her life she'd swore she'd never let him back in without a fight.

But what had she done?

Last night he stepped into the light of her open door and she welcomed him with open arms, this man who'd broken her heart and left her a shattered, shell of a girl, he hadn't even bothered to call for Christ's sake!

Rogue brushed an angry tear from her cheek and stood up confidently in front of him, "you promised!" She yelled, not holding back the slightest bit to save face, she couldn't have cared less if anyone heard, this had been pent up anger for far too long and it was time to stop hiding and let this man know what he'd really done. So she continued, "you were supposed to take care of me Logan! You promised!"

The tears kept fighting to come, but she held them back, "fuck," she swore and he immediately looked up into her eyes, they burned with a fire he hadn't seen in them before, and he'd _never_ heard her swear.

"I prayed every night that you'd come home Logan. For two years I waited, everyone said I was crazy, holding on to a pipedream, putting you up on some pedestal that you never belonged on. But I told them they were the ones who were crazy! Told them they didn't know you like I did, that you'd come back - you'd always come back."

She stopped yelling for a moment, more to just catch her breath than anything. For she had more to say and from the look of amazement, hurt, confusion and sadness on his face, she knew he would continue to listen and not interrupt. Funny how that is, she knew there wasn't a hope the mighty Wolverine would take this kind of crap from anyone, he'd have stalked off by now for sure, after giving them a piece of his mind, or an adamantium blade through the stomach, whichever came first. But Rogue could, they'd passed that spot in their relationship long ago where she had to tip toe around him, and she knew it, she could be honest with him and she knew he'd take it from her.

She finally let out a defeated sigh, dropping her head and locking her view on the snow covered ground, "do you have any idea how much I loved you?" She finally asked softly, and eventually raising her head to look at him.

He finally lifted his head locking his gaze with hers. She'd seen so many different emotions cross his face in the past few minutes, all of them so familiar she would have known them anywhere, but now – now he looked different. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, it was a look she'd never seen before, at least never on him. His eyes looked almost empty and his usual Logan smirk was completely gone. He stared at her for only a moment, as if trying to comprehend all that she had just said, then he cleared his throat softly and replied, "loved?"

The way he said it wasn't like he was surprised that she had loved him, that he already knew, he'd always known, for she'd never been very good at keeping her feelings for him a secret. No. He said it more in shock to hear her use the word in past tense, like she _use_ to love him, but not anymore, like he'd had his chance and she was done with the Wolverine now – forever.

"I…" she couldn't find the words, she'd said so much in so little time, most of which came out in pure anger and now she was regretting every word. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Scott, Logan," she managed in a bare whisper, "I knew I should have told you, I just didn't know how." She paused trying to collect herself, then finished, "you were everything to me for so long ya know? I just didn't know how to tell you this."

"It's alright kid," he finally replied breaking his silence and taking her hand in his, giving it a squeeze, "I gave you every reason to hate me."

She sighed looking up into his hazel eyes, that look of emptiness was gone and she could see the color clearly now, so many memories those eyes held, so many days and nights together, there was too much there to just throw away over bad judgment and pent up anger.

"I could _never_ hate you Logan," she smiled nudging him in the side with her elbow.

He looked back at her, not quite smiling but a look of contentment on his face that said, at least he knew he hadn't completely blown things and even though she hadn't told him her big news as soon as he'd arrived home, he understood why.

"So… you wanna come wedding dress shopping with me sometime?" Rogue smirked, stifling her laughter at the thought of Logan in a wedding store, as she leaned over resting her chin on his shoulder.

He only raised an eyebrow at her, causing her to let her laughter escape. He just shook his head, relishing the moment and all the memories it brought back.

God he'd missed this, he'd missed her laughing at the stupidest things, things he'd never find funny, but he'd always loved listening to her laugh, her youthful lust for life and everything in it, no matter how silly it may seem. He missed the way she'd throw her head back letting her hair fall freely down her back, the light catching it just the right way so it shimmered like near black silk. He missed the way she'd always bring herself an ice cream when she'd wake him up at night and she'd inevitably end up dripping it all over the sheets so he'd have to change them before they went to sleep. He missed seeing his dog tags dangling around her neck and the way she'd fidget with them when she got nervous, or when she'd steal his leather jacket just to go to the store with Jubilee and Kitty. It was five sizes too big on her but she liked it and he didn't really mind, he'd always liked it when she'd return it smelling of vanilla, coconuts and a slight hint of _her_, that was the best part, he could usually smell her on his clothes for days after she'd borrowed them. But most of all, he'd finally realized, he just missed _her_.

The two sat out on the bench over looking the pond for a while longer in complete silence. Logan leaned back against the cold wooden slats, his arm up over the backrest and Rogue tucked neatly underneath, her head resting on his shoulder as she tried to absorb any extra body heat he could spare, it was warm for winter in New York, but still too cold to be out dressed in only a t-shirt.

"Rogue?" A silent voice suddenly echoed inside her head.

"Yes professor?" She replied silently.

"Bring Logan and come to my office immediately."

His message was so short and cold sounding, very unlike the professor, he was always so gentle and kind, even when he was giving orders, so Rogue knew something was up.

"We have to go," she turned to Logan as she stood up and stepped away from the bench.

"Where?" He asked, his eyebrows furled in confusion.

"The professor needs to see us in his office," she reached out to take his hand, but he hesitated to grab it.

"Hmm…" he smirked raising an eyebrow and stood from the bench to follow after her, "Chuck took a pit stop in your head did he?"

She just ignored his snide remark and continued up toward the house, Logan stopped for a moment pulling out his book of matches to relight his cigar that had died, then continued after Rogue.

**Hope you enjoyed! Please remember to review, it keeps me going! I'll do my best to get Chapter 6 up ASAP!**


	6. Logan's Confession

**A/N:** Quick note for anyone whose been longing for some Rogue/Logan action, please read on, I hope you won't be disappointed! hint hint ;o) Also, sorry in advance for the extreme length of this chapter. When I started writing it I was having a heck of a time getting anything to sound right, but once I got to the… um… hep hem… part, it was pouring out of me so fast I could barely typefast enough!

**Rating:** PG-13 (for some coarse language, minor sexual suggestion but nothing nasty)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own X-men or any of its characters, this is just for fun!

**Ashnan: **No you didn't miss any Scogue disclaimer, this IS most definitely a Logan/Rogue fic, I just needed to get a little conflict in there and unfortunately poor Scott will have to bear the weight of that burden, for now anyway...

**Janey/Lehcar Sundance: **Sorry, but I'm Logan/Rogue all the way, I actually did consider leaving is Scott/Rogue after I wrote chapter 2 but then I looked at the Logan pic I have on my desktop and that thought flew right out the window! LOL. But who knows, I haven't finished yet and I never know what creative bug will bite me, so ANYTHING can still happen!

**Sam: **YAAY! That was my goal all along, I tried SOOOO hard to write all of Ch.2 without disclosing the identity of the 'man' and my hope was that every one would think it was Logan right up until the end. So thank you! I'm so glad I succeeded without making it confusing!

**Vamsi/Nicki: **I do feel bad for Scott, he does have bad timing and always seems to get the brunt of Logan's… well… Logan. But don't worry, I won't break him, he'll be alright.

**Roguechere: **Thank you so much for the lovely comments, I'm glad you're enjoying it!

**And to everyone else who has reviewed, THANK YOU SO MUCH! I SO appreciate your positive comments, it really does keep me going. I keep writing this for all of you and not for me at all anymore! I'm sorry I can't mention everyone but there are so many of you, so I'm just going to say thank you. I'll try to answer any specific questions anyone posts in the future.**

Enjoy!

**Chapter 6: Logan's Confession**

The professor had already started debriefing the group when Rogue and Logan arrived in his office, the scent of new leather filled the room and delicate tones of Beethoven echoed softly in the background. Rogue gently creaked the door open and padded softly into the office hoping not to disrupt the meeting in progress, Logan followed closely behind her not nearly as concerned with making a discreet entrance as his boots scuffed noisily over the dark mahogany floor.

The professor sat behind the large wooden desk that was the focal point of the room, his hand clasped tightly around a bright blue folder, while the rest of his papers strayed chaotically over the polished mahogany surface. In his other hand was a long metal pointer which every so often he would smack against the oversized whiteboard the stood next to his desk, it was covered in sketches, maps, names of strange cities and lists.

Storm sat opposite the professor, her legs crossed daintily as her foot bobbed up and down to the rhythm of the barely audible music in the background. Her snow white hair cascaded over her shoulders and down the back of the chair where Kurt sat playing with it. He was perched in a squat up on the bookshelf behind her, his overly large fingers winding their way through her long locks as they twisted in loops around each finger. His mouth curled up in a small smile that told everyone in the room who noticed, that the woman in front of him was more than he ever could've hoped for.

Scott stood across the room leaning against the wall listening intently to all the professor had to say, soaking up every detail no doubt, he lived for this stuff, and took his role as _leader_ extremely seriously, situations like this were no time for antics or daydreaming. An intense scowl crossed his face as Logan and Rogue entered the room together, the concentrated look of mission preparation instantly fading from his face and his eyebrows raising at the sight.

She looked strange he thought, her features seemed blurred almost, what was wrong? Scott looked her over, she seemed ok, her long dark hair swept back into a pony tail leaving only slight white feathers of hair framing the delicate features of her face, her dark brown eyes were filled with a deep excitement that only came from when she knew she'd get to go on a mission. Her hips swayed slightly as she glided into the room, it wasn't an obvious movement but it was anything but subtle in those black pants that hugged her in all the right places. He felt his groin tense up at just the sight of her as she slipped in front of him taking the seat near the window.

"Hey," he whispered to her, only taking his attention away from the professor for a moment, then turning back to listen intently.

She only smiled up at him, then glanced across the room at Logan who had taken his usual spot over near the door leaning up against the door frame, arms crossed over his broad chest, cigar clamped firmly between his teeth and a look of disinterest that challenged Scotts look of authority.

"Logan," professor Xavier stopped for a moment to acknowledge his return with a smile, "nice to see you again."

Logan only nodded and the professor turned back to continue his explanation.

"So as you all know, the search for Magneto has been a long and tedious one. His efforts to block my telepathy and keep his whereabouts secret have been great and until this morning I was beginning to think I may never find him. But I've finally had a breakthrough with Cerebro that I think may just lead us to him."

"What is it professor?" Scott asked.

"He's not only been blocking me from himself, but from Mystique and our young friend John, or as some of you know him, Pyro, as well. But this morning I finally got a lock on his young accomplice which I think will lead us straight to Magneto."

Charles turned to face the whiteboard pulling down the map that hung above it and quickly locating his target he snapped the long silver pointer letting it land squarely in the middle of Arizona.

"The Grand Canyon?" Logan remarked snidely, dismissing the thought with a snort.

"From what I was able to get from John's mind, it seems that Magneto has set up a base of some sort there, the details were few, I believe due primarily to the great distance between us. But I think it's enough to go on for now. Storm, Scott, get the jet ready, I'd like the five of you to head out before first light and see what's there."

"Professor!" Scott began to protest at the thought of Logan going along on a mission when he'd only just returned.

"The jet Scott," Charles retorted quickly not even giving him chance to argue.

Scotts head dropped and with a deep sigh he shoved his hands in his pockets and turned to leave the room. He didn't even turn back to look at Rogue, not a smile or a touch did she receive, but Logan did. Scott wasn't about to head out without letting that man know exactly what he thought of him, so just before he passed through the doorway he turned to give Logan a scowl that went deeper than just facial features and grumbled, "welcome home _Wolverine_."

Logan seemed unfazed by Scotts snide remark and continued to chew down on his cigar, letting a cloud of smoke slip past his lips as he glanced over at Rogue who was now looking his way, no doubt wondering what Scott had said to him.

"I'll see you later," Storm smiled sweetly giving Kurt a peck on the cheek and as she stood from her seat and headed toward the door. Judging from the look on his face, had his skin not been so dark, a blush would've surely been seen. Storm hadn't even gotten out of the room when Kurt disappeared into a puff of blue smoke leaving only the professor, Logan and Rogue in the office.

Rogue looked between the two men sensing that they probably had much to discuss, so she figured now was as good a time as any to make her exit, "I'll just leave you two alone, I've got some things to take care of before we leave in the mornin'," with that she raised out of the soft leather chair and slipped silently out of the room. But not before giving Logan a smile and little rub on the shoulder with the palm of her hand.

"I'll see ya later kid," he replied gruffly, finally pushing off the doorframe and stalking over to the desk where he leaned over placing his large weather beaten hands on the back of the brown leather chair that sat directing in front of the professor.

"So I trust you've been well Logan?" Charles asked with a slight smile as he rolled out from behind the desk into the middle of the room.

"I guess," Logan grunted a reply, turning to look at the older man in front of him and sitting back on the backrest of the chair he'd been leaning on.

"So what brings you back to us?"

The professor looked Logan over carefully, he didn't _have_ to ask why Logan was there, he could've easily just taken a swim through the dark waters of his mind to find the answers, but he always preferred to hear it straight, so he waited patiently for several moments for a response from the man himself.

Finally after a long, getting more awkward with every passing moment, silence, Logan spoke up, his voice low, husky and carefully guarded, "just figured it was time." His eyes wandered the entire room as he spoke, the walls, the window, the shuffled papers on the desk, but never once did they make contact with the professors.

"Hmmm…" Charles replied softly as he continued his scan of the man towering before him. Something wasn't adding up, Logan had never really felt at home in Westchester, not _really_, so somehow his response just didn't seem to fit. "Well it's certainly nice to have you back Logan, but I'm amazed that after all this time, you would simply show up on the doorstep, what happened while you were away?"

Charles eyed him carefully while awaiting his response, so much could be determined just from a persons mannerisms, or tone of voice, he sensed Logan was hiding something but couldn't quite put his finger on what.

"Just got tired I guess," Logan grunted in response, his gaze still purposely avoiding that of the professor. He took a step back from the chair slowly edging towards the door, this conversation was getting for more personal than he cared to get with Chuck, so he decided now would be the perfect time to make his exit. "Listen I…" Logan began as he reached out for the door knob, but the professor cut him off, sending a private message straight through to his mind.

_"-Don't hide from me Logan-"_

Logan snapped back to look at the professor in surprise, 'fuck he hated it when he did that!' But he said nothing and did his best to clear his thoughts of anything he didn't want Chuck to find.

_"-What are you hiding Logan? What happened while you were go…-"_

The professor's voice suddenly stopped in Logan's head and his face drew blank as he searched Logan's eyes for the truth. Logan stared over at him, cocking an eyebrow and wondering what had stopped his incessant meddling in his brain. The two men just stood there for several moments looking back at one another, one wondering what the other had seen in his mind and the other wondering if what he had seen could _possibly_ be true.

Finally Charles spoke, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had filled the room, his brow furrowed and he had sort of intense look of worry on his face, his tone was low and filled with surprise.

"That's why you came back?"

His eyes searched Logan's desperately struggling to reveal the truth, for he couldn't believe that _this_ was the reason for the man's return after being gone for so long. Of all the reasons he may have come up with on his own, _this_ was definitely not one he would have ever imagined so he was sure he must have been mistaken.

"What?" Logan growled, unimpressed with the professor's constant prying into his personal affairs, it was none of his god damn business why he came back, and he would choose who and when he told about it. "I already told you Chuck," he snapped back, "I just figured it was time, got tired of bein' on the road all the time, figured I could use a break, wanted a clean bed to sleep in."

Ok now he was just rambling, _'shut up Logan, for Christ's sake shut up!'_ He silently scolded himself hoping to god that Chuck hadn't heard him.

"Please Logan."

Charles looked up at the brute of a man still standing before him and he knew he was right, he knew what he'd seen in Logan's mind had been the truth, even if Logan didn't know it, or at least didn't want anyone else to know it. The professor's face dropped to a look of concern and worry as he sighed, rolling his wheelchair a little closer to Logan so they were only a few feet apart.

"Logan please don't do this to her."

He looked down to meet the professor's gaze, their eyes locked, but Logan said nothing.

"The past five years have been extremely hard on her Logan, you can't just waltz back into her life and drop a bomb like this on her." Charles paused, sighing deeply, not really sure what to say to this man standing in front of him. He knew how determined he was, he'd seen it before, and he'd seen in his mind that this particular item on his list of things to do, was not something he was about to take lightly.

Finally, realizing that there was probably no way of _really _getting through to him on this particular subject, Charles reached out for the door knob and pulled the door open toward him, rolling back away from it.

"Please be careful Logan, a broken heart is not something that can be easily healed by something as simple as a mutation."

Logan didn't respond, only turned, striding out of the office and down the long hall back to his room.

* * *

"Logan." A soft voice came out of the darkness.

"Mmpff," he grumbled thrashing to the side untouched by her velvety southern accented words.

"Logan." The voice came again, a little louder this time.

"Grrmmf mm mm grrrumf," he growled again still undisturbed, but continued to thrash in almost rhythmic outbursts causing his blankets to be splayed across the bed.

"Logan!" Once more the voice came, this time louder and stronger and following with a gentle touch to his leg that was sprawled out from under the white sheet that still covered the rest of him.

"Aaarrggghhh!" He flew straight up in bed, rage and sheer terror filling his growls so they almost sounded primal, like they'd come from some sort of prehistoric animal destroying its prey. His arms struck out in front of him and six adamantium blades projected nine inches out, ready for a fight with whoever dared to get in his way. His broad chest heaved with the desperation of his breaths, his forehead covered with a nervous sweat he finally began to look around the room, realizing that it had only been a dream.

"Logan are you alright?"

There was that voice again, he thought he'd only dreamed it. His head quickly snapped to look at the end of the bed and there she stood. Like an angel. Like the most beautiful angel he ever could have imagined. Dark hair cascading down her shoulders and over her breasts, perfect breasts he thought, fuck, they looked as if they'd fit perfectly in the palm of his hand. His eyes finally traveled up, two perfect white streaks framed the delicate features of her face, high cheek bones, full red lips, eyes so deep and brown that a person could get lost in them if they weren't careful. Her dainty figure was covered only by long red and blue flannel shirt that hung just a little past her ass, which he couldn't see through the heavy material of the shirt, but he imagined it was perfect as well. Her curvy thighs narrowed at the knees just perfectly then curved back down towards her calves and…

Wait a minute.

Was that _his_ flannel shirt she was wearing?

It was.

"Logan?" Her voice was soft and soothing, comforting the beast within him as his gleaming metal claws slowly disappeared back behind their human shell.

He blinked a few times, finally tearing his stare away from the bare skin that was before him and forcing himself to look her in the eye.

When she finally locked her gaze with his, she knew he was back, those nightmares had always wreaked havoc on him, mind, body and soul and she knew it usually took a few minutes before he managed to collect himself. She smiled softly, keeping her stare locked on his as she walked around the side of the bed and sat down on the edge.

"Bad one tonight?" Rogue asked as she reached over handing him the beer she'd brought.

His eyes dropped from hers and settled on the bottle in her outstretched hand, then rose up to look at her again. He'd been gone five years, surely there wasn't still beer in his secret hiding spot?

"I kept it," she smiled sheepishly.

He raised an eyebrow at her stifling a chuckle that tried to escape as he reached for the bottle, brushing her naked hand with his as he did and causing an almost electric tingle to run straight up his arm. All the hairs on his forearm stood on end at the sensation and he quickly looked up at her again, noticing that she'd felt it too.

"I thought you…" Logan began to ask, thinking she'd gotten her powers under control but wondering if maybe that wasn't the case when he felt the charge.

"I did, I mean, I can," she stuttered, "it wasn't me."

They sat in silence a moment, just looking across at one another, neither sure what to say.

Finally Rogue sighed, pushing herself up onto the bed and crossing her legs underneath her, "I just couldn't throw it away."

"It's a beer kid," Logan replied sarcastically, thinking that holding onto a beer for five years was the stupidest thing he'd ever heard and even more important, it was a damn waste of a perfectly good beer!

"I know," she replied softly, her dark eyes dropping to the sheet beneath her unable to meet his intense stare, "but it was _your_ beer and your shirt," she reached down tugging at the soft fabric draped around her.

The slight smirk that had formed on his lips faded instantly, _'fuck,'_ he thought to himself, '_Chuck had been fuckin' right.'_ He hadn't realized before what he'd really left behind all those years ago. She'd tried to tell him earlier that day by the pond, but he hadn't heard her, not _really_, not the way he _needed_ to hear her, to really understand what she was trying to tell him.

"I'm sorry kid," he rumbled softly, "I never meant for it to turn out this way."

"I know."

He stared back at her, the unopened and probably staler than hell beer still clenched in his hand. God she'd gotten beautiful, but who was he kidding, she'd _always_ been beautiful, he'd just been too preoccupied to see it. Now she was fuckin' gorgeous!

"I…" He began softly, but lost his words before he really found them.

She heard him though, and she quickly looked up again, her large brown eyes searching through the deep hazel of his, for answers.

_'Why had he really come back? _Really_?' _

Her eyes flickered between his, looking for something, anything that would tell her what was going on inside this man before her. She knew her feelings were in an uproar, had been ever since he'd appeared in her doorway the night before. Five long years had passed, but somehow now it felt like no more than a day.

God her stomach was in knots.

_'Logan say something.'_ She urged silently, hoping desperately that he would speak first, however unlikely, she knew that may be.

The light of the full moon outside shone bright through the window tracing patterns of the frost that laced the windows, all over the bed. The feathery glow cascaded over them both as they sat there in silence, each hoping against hope that the other would go first.

She couldn't take it anymore, she had to say something, anything to break this deafening silence that had formed like a black cloud over them. She cleared her throat softly, "I'm glad you came back."

He met her stare, their eyes locking together once again, "yeah, me too."

When he didn't go on she finally shifted her weight, turning to slip off the side of the bed, "I should get to bed, we'll have to leave for Arizona soon."

He nodded silently, watching her slide onto the floor, but before she stepped away she paused, turning to look back down at him still sitting on the bed.

"I love you Logan," she smiled softly, cupping her hand over the prickly softness of his jaw.

He felt his heart skip a beat.

No one had ever told him that before, at least not that he could remember anyway. He looked up at her standing before him, her tiny figure hidden somewhere in the bulkiness of his flannel shirt, her lips curled into an unmistakable 'Marie' smile and her eyes sparkling in the moonlight. She truly was the only thing that meant anything to him anymore.

But he replied, "me too kid."

It wasn't a confession of love, simply an endearment to someone who'd become a good friend and confident, a kid sister maybe, or possibly even a best friend, but it wasn't a confession of love.

Rogue rubbed her thumb softly over his cheek, smiled once more and turned to leave, "goodnight Logan."

He watched her pad softly toward the door, his shirt swaying loosely at her sides as she walked and her long dark hair shimmering in the moonlight that streamed through the window creating an almost halo effect around her.

"Marie." The word escaped his lips before he even realized he was saying it.

She turned back at the sound of her name, her _real_ name, but said nothing.

He stared over at her, the surreal glow of the moon illuminating all around her making her look almost angelic as she stood in the doorway.

"I don't love you Marie," he croaked, barely able to say the words.

Her eyes widened at what she'd heard and the smile faded from her lips, but before she had a chance to respond he spoke again.

"I mean… I don't _just _love you."

Her eyes narrowed in confusion. She still said nothing.

Time stood still.

She stared over at him, not exactly sure where he was going with this, and he stared back at her not sure if he could finish what he'd started.

When it appeared that he was never going to be able to say what he _really_ meant, Rogue turned back to continue out into the hall without a word.

"I'm _in_ love with you Marie."

Rogue stopped dead in her tracks, frozen in time. 'Had she just heard what she thought she'd heard?' She slowly turned on her heal to gape in amazement back at him. But she still said nothing. His eyes searched hers, desperate for some sign that he hadn't just made the biggest mistake of his entire life. The silence was becoming too much for him, deafening to the point of nausea almost. Normally he was the silent, brooding one, and now he found himself being the one doing all the talking.

"That's why I came back."

Again he waited.

She stared back at him, the moon reflecting in her large brown eyes as she stood there not knowing what to say or do. She felt numb, right down to her bare feet that felt as though they had been glued to the cool hardwood floor. How long had she waited to hear him utter those words to her? How many nights had she dreamt of the moment when he would? How many days had she spent after he'd left, just hoping and praying that he'd return and claim her as his own?

And now here she was. Standing in front of this man that she'd loved in one way or another for so long she could hardly remember life before him, and she was engaged to someone else.

Logan pushed the sheet aside and one pillow fell silently to the floor as he stood from the bed. He stepped closer to her, every step exaggerated, taking much longer than it should. He stepped as though she were a deer frightened in the headlights of a car on the highway, afraid of spooking her, that she may bolt if he moved to suddenly.

But she didn't run, she still stood glued to that spot on the floor, her heartbeat growing increasingly faster with every step he took toward her, but she held still.

He reached out grasping her arms that hung limply at her sides, in his strong hands. They felt rough to the touch, weathered from endless days on the road and no doubt nights in cage fights, but somehow they were comforting just the same, familiar and gentle. She relished his touch, though she knew she shouldn't.

"Marie?"

His voice came soft and raspy with emotion, emotion she'd never heard in his voice before. She looked up at the sound and he locked on her gaze.

"Are you gonna say somthin' darlin'?"

Her eyes drifted down - down his bare chest - over every muscle - his strong arms outstretched to hers - down further - his grey sweatpants with the waistband rolled down revealing his navel - down again - the pant cuffs dragging on the floor and his toes just barely peeking out from underneath.

When she finally raised her head to look up at him once again, her eyes were completely filled with tears causing them to shine in the night.

"Don't cry darlin'," Logan whispered, his voice low and gravelly as he reached across to wipe her cheek when the inevitable first tear fell.

Rogue let out a mock laugh combined with a sigh that almost sounded like relief, her smile finally escaped and the tears that glistened in her eyes began to stream down her cheeks. She cocked her elbows raising her arms and clasped her tiny hands around Logan's forearms as he still continued to hold hers.

He couldn't quite make out the look on her face. Was it relief? Happiness? He'd never seen her look this way before, so he wasn't sure what to make of it, so he waited for her to make the next move.

Which she finally did.

After so many minutes in silence, unable to find the right words, or even _any_ words at all for that matter, she gave up on words. Talk was cheap and she knew Logan well enough to know he was more of an 'act now, think later' kind of guy, so she did the only thing she could do.

Raising herself up on her tip toes, Rogue slowly slid her hands up his muscular biceps and across his broad shoulders, up his neck and finally settled, sinking them deep into his thick, almost black hair. She blinked back several tears that were still fighting to escape and pressed her body close into his until she could feel every part of him clinging to her.

He only watched her, letting her make all the moves, he'd made the first play and now it was her turn so he simply stood there in her arms, watching her delicate gestures and waiting to see what she would do next.

Slowly she began to close the gap between them, her lips moving dangerously close to his, her eyes flashing with desire and excitement until they looked almost heavy as she slowly closed them, finally pressing her soft, warm mouth against his. His hands slid up her back, softly at first, but then firmer with the growing intensity of their kiss. His tongue slipped between her lips parting them only slightly, then between her teeth until he found her tongue and began massaging it gently with his own.

At first she'd seemed hesitant, but only moments later her uncertainty seemed to melt away and she dug her fingers into the flesh of his back, pulling him closer to her. He squeezed her tightly in return running his fingers up through her long dark tresses and crashing his lips onto hers harder and faster than before.

God she felt good in his arms, why had he waited so long? She was everything he'd ev…

"Logan?" A soft, almost velvety southern voice came out of the darkness.

"Hmm…" He mumbled in return.

"Logan," the voice came again, slightly louder this time, "Logan wake up, we have to go."

"Hmm what?" he grumbled again struggling to open his eyes, the light from out in the hall nearly blinding him as he did.

"Scott's got the jet ready, we're gonna leave in a few minutes, come on."

He blinked furiously trying to get a good look around the room and get his bearings. Finally when his vision cleared he saw her, there she stood, near the end of the bed, only this time there was no flannel shirt and no stale beer in her hand, only Rogue dressed in her X-Men uniform. He'd never seen her in it before, and even though it didn't compare to the thought of her in his flannel shirt and nothing else, he did like it, tight black leather hugging her curves in all the right places, it was definitely good in a different way.

"Well come on sleepyhead," she giggled with a smile, "get up, get dressed or we're leavin' withoutcha'."

She quickly turned, her long silken hair flowing out behind her and left the room, leaving Logan with a distinct lump in the pit of his stomach, another in the middle of his throat and a third down in his crotch.

_'Fuck!'_ He scolded himself silently, _'he _had_ to quit having these dreams about her'_.

**OK, please don't hate me for doing that to you… I really am sorry… really -giggles sadistically- ;o) **

**Don't worry, there'll be more lovin' to come, I'm just messin' whitcha' and not quite ready for a "happily ever after" just yet!**

**Don't forget to RR! You keep me inspired! Chapter 7 will be up soon, I promise!**


	7. Mixed Signals

**A/N:** Sorry for the slight delay in getting this chapter posted, I know it's been a full week since chapter 6 went up! So I beg and plead for your forgiveness! But I've just started school at night plus I work full time during the day, so between homework and all, it's been busy to say the least, so please bear with me, I promise I haven't forgotten about this fic, believe me! Logan and Rogue call out to me throughout my day and all night long while I'm trying to sleep. So I know EXACTLY where this story is going and where it will end up, just a matter of getting it all down on paper!

So with that said… please enjoy and don't forget to review:o)

**Rating:** PG-13 (for some coarse language, minor sexual suggestion but nothing nasty)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own X-men or any of its characters, this is just for fun! (But if I had a say, I'd own me a Logan, my very own Logan… hmmm… sigh ;o)

**Thanks again to all of you who have reviewed so far, your wonderful comments are so encouraging and I really appreciate them! **

**Chapter 7: Mixed Signals**

"You call that a landing?" Logan scoffed when the Blackbird shuddered as it made contact with the ground.

Logan couldn't see Scott's glare behind the red tint of his glasses, but he knew it was there and only smirked at the thought. God, how he loved to irk him, if nothing else was going right in a guy's day, you could always cheer yourself up with a jab at good 'ol One Eye!

He could feel her eyes boring into the side of his head as he sat there thinking of ways to get under Scott's skin, but he chose not to look over. Rogue just stared at Logan, the look in her eyes flipping from one of annoyance in the way he kept insisting on pushing all Scott's buttons, then to another look that was more in amusement, at the way he just seemed to have a natural ability for it.

Finally he glanced over to her in the seat next to him, long dark hair flowing down over the curves that were the front of her body, brilliant white streaks framing her cheeks, large doe eyes sparkling over at him – and they _were_ sparkling. He could tell she was trying her best to be annoyed with him, but he knew she'd always found it rather amusing the way he and Scott bantered back and forth.

"Stop it," she mouthed in annoyance, scrunching her eyes down at him and feigning a scowl.

He merely curled the corner of his mouth up into a trademark smirk and gave her a wink. Her smile finally escaped as she continued to watch him fidget with his black leather X-Men gloves. He'd always hated that suit and hadn't been terribly enthusiastic about putting it on again that morning after Rogue had woken him up.

Shit, his mind kept wandering back to that dream.

'_Focus Logan, focus,'_ he repeated to himself, as he tried to fill his mind with some of the most repulsive images he could come up with. Sabertooth being gutted - Deathstrike's body filling with liquid adamantium - Magneto in a bikini…

'_Aw yuck, Logan that's fuckin' disgusting,'_ he scolded himself silently trying to shake the images out of his mind. But the moment they were gone, she was back. That perfect tiny frame, curvy hips flowing up into perfect breasts, the kind that would fit perfectly in the palm of his hand. He imagined how they would feel, soft but firm, warm, velvety to the touch and… _'Fuck Logan!'_ he scolded himself once again at his inability to let this go.

'_She's just a kid for Christ's sake, get a grip bub, what are you? Some cradle robbing, child molester?'_

He glanced over at her again, she was still looking at him, but she looked different this time, what was that look in her eyes?

Rogue sat silently in her seat waiting for Storm and Scott to get their gear organized to scout out the place. She could feel her heart thudding hard against her ribcage, 'thud-thud thud-thud thud-thud,' the sound resonated in her ears, echoing like a base drum from one of Jubilee's awful CD's behind her eyes.

'_Turn your head Rogue,'_ she told herself silently, but was unable to convince her eyes to wander away from him. God he looked amazing, he looked exactly the same, hadn't aged a day since he'd left so long ago.

'_Oh god he's looking at me again,'_ she finally tore her gaze away from his and concentrated on her hands fidgeting nervously in her lap. _'How can he still do this to me after all this time?'_ She wondered, her heart still thudding in her chest. She was in love with Scott now, she'd let go of Logan a long time ago. Hadn't she?

But in actuality some part of him still resided in her head, that inner-Logan she'd acquired both times he'd saved her life had never really gone away. Most days she'd managed to ignore his incessant nagging for a beer, or some good 'ol Jack Daniels or just to go out and have some 'real' fun. But some days he was so strong in her head, it was next to impossible to get through the day without bursting into tears just from the ache that resonated in the pit of her stomach in his absence.

She'd reassured Scott time and time again that the Logan in her head was only a fleeting thing, that after a sufficient amount of time had passed, that he'd just slowly drifted away, leaving only her own thoughts and feelings behind. But that wasn't the truth, she'd only told him that to calm his fears and reassure him that she was in fact, 'his'. He'd always been insecure about their relationship, always second guessing everything when it came to Logan and she'd grown tired of constantly defending herself and finally realized that the only way she and Scott would ever get peace would be if she lied to him.

And the reality of it was, her head still echoed with voices, Magneto's evil plots and tortured childhood, David's fear and the pain flooding through his body when she'd put him in a coma, and unfortunately Logan's anger, lost past, drinking binges and nightmares.

They all fought for supremacy in her head, David, being the weakest of the three was the easiest to keep under control, easily shoved to the back of her mind and locked away where he couldn't bother her.

Magneto was a little tougher, always fighting to plant ideas in her head, ways she could skip classes or sneak out of the mansion, anything she might get in trouble for, Magneto seemed to be behind.

But then there was Logan, her inner-Logan resonated in her head the strongest of the three and understandably so, he'd touched her two times as opposed to just the once of the others. Plus, both times he'd touched her, she'd been dead or nearly dead and he'd held on for the longest time. His entire life had flooded into her head, there was so much of him in there she often wondered if she knew more about his life that he did. Sometimes it even felt like there was more Logan in her head than there was Rogue.

For the most part she'd never really minded having him knocking around in there, some days she even found it comforting, like even though he'd left her, some part of him remained and she held onto that as tightly as she could. But the worst thing about having Logan in her head, was the nightmares.

God those nightmares.

How many nights had she lied to Scott about why she'd woken up screaming and drenched in a cold sweat. How many nights had she slipped out of bed and into a scalding hot bath just to try and keep from falling asleep for fear of dreaming one of 'his' dreams again. And how many nights had she snuck out of the mansion and down to the lake just to find some peace, some quiet, somewhere where the voices in her head could battle things out.

"You two ready?" Storm finally broke the uncomfortable silence that had formed in the jet, "we've got the packs ready so come on," she smiled her trademark reassuring smile and turned heading out of the jet.

Rogue cleared her throat uncomfortably and quickly unbuckled her seatbelt. Logan still looked a little stunned, still not sure what that look was that he'd seen on her face only moments ago, it almost looked like fear.

'_Was she afraid of him?'_ He wondered, _'how could that be' She'd never been afraid of him, even after she saw him slice through that shot gun like it was warm butter in Laughlin City, even after he'd skewered her in his bedroom when they'd first arrived at the mansion and even after he'd raged at her so uncontrollably after Jeans death. She'd never feared him. So what was that look he saw?'_

He sniffed the air softly, trying to find a trace of her scent lingering, his nose twitched wildly for several moments, at first finding nothing, but then he stopped. His eyebrow raised in typical Logan fashion and he took one last sniff of the air, not really sure if he'd really sensed what he thought he'd sensed.

'_Was it desire?'_

"Logan come on!" Scott's voice came suddenly loud from behind him, "get the lead out!"

Logan let out a quiet snarl, scowling to himself as he unbuckled his seatbelt.

* * *

"So I think we'll start up on the south ridge tomorrow morning, I think there's a good chance that's where Magneto's base is."

Rogue tried her best to remain interested as Scott rambled on about the mission, but so far wasn't having much luck, her mind kept wandering to other things making it difficult to focus on what he was saying. The past couple of days had been a complete and utter blur, so much had happened in such a short amount of time it was almost impossible to keep her mind straight and on the tasks at hand. Normally, she was all about the mission, completely focused and at Scott's side the entire time, ready to do whatever needed to be done, take on any task, give any order, anything to prove she was just as capable and all the other X-Men and a valuable member of the team.

But lately, there was only one thing on her mind and it wasn't missions or tasks or orders, it was tall, built like a freight train, and sexier than hell. It had one name – Logan.

'_Logan.'_

It resonated in her head, like a mantra, over and over she repeated his name, _'Logan – Logan – Logan – Logan… Fuck! Rogue, shut the hell up!'_ She mentally gave herself a punch to the head trying to knock the thought of him out of her mind.

"Hey babe, you alright?" Scott rolled over in his sleeping bag resting his arm over her chest and began stroking the long platinum locks of her hair softly with his fingers, "you seemed a little off all day, are you feeling ok?"

His voice was completely genuine, not condescending or even a hint of sarcasm but somehow the words echoed in her ears making her want to scream. _'No! Everything's not alright!'_ She screamed silently in her mind, _'I'm a mess -everything's a mess- I can't think straight -you're crowding me -I need space -I can't do this- I… I… I...'_

The ranting in her head finally stopped and she replied calmly, "yeah, yeah I'm fine, I think I might be coming down with something."

Scott's hand raised up, running it softly over the length of her body, past the silky elastic of her blue satin pajama's, over the bare skin of her midriff, up over her cropped pajama top, brushing past her breasts where he only paused for a moment to revel in their softness. Then he continued up her neck, brushing a few stray hairs off her cheek, tucking them behind her ear, and finally rested his palm on her forehead where he checked for a temperature.

"Feels ok to me," he smiled down at her, removing his hand from her forehead and placing it back on the exposed skin of her flat stomach, "I think you'll live."

"That's good to know," she turned, forcing a smile up at him. She didn't feel like smiling at him, she didn't feel like smiling at anyone right now, she just felt like… like… like she would explode if she didn't get out of there in an instant! God her stomach was in knots, her head was whirling like she'd just gotten off the worlds largest rollercoaster and her heart was in complete turmoil. Everything that had been so simple a few days ago was suddenly so foreign to her, she almost didn't recognize her own life.

How did she get here?

When did she get here?

'_Oh god,'_ her stomach did another flip inside her, this time she nearly lost the tiny amount of dinner she had eaten, but quickly recovered and swallowed down the foul bile and bits of vegetable soup that had risen in her throat.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Scott asked again, this time his face consumed with a look she hadn't seen on him in a long time. It was that look he used to give her when Logan first left, a look that always asked why she was waiting for a man who obviously didn't want her, a look that wondered when she was ever going to get over him and move on, and finally it was a look that begged to know if she would ever _truly_ let him go.

God she hated it when he looked at her like that, his insecurities rising to the surface making him incapable of thinking and behaving rationally. She knew all too well what Scott's jealousy of Logan had done to their relationship when they'd first gotten together and she was smart enough to know that unless she wanted to get into a heated argument about it all again, she'd better give him a damn convincing explanation.

Rogue rolled onto her side to face him, their noses barely an inch apart as she slipped her long fingers up over his neck and brushed them gently over his soft brown hair, "honest hon," she drawled, putting on the heaviest southern twang she could manage, "I swear I'm fine, it's just been a busy couple of days that's all, I'm a little worn out."

Scott searched her eyes, flicking back and forth between them looking for answers, something in the pit of his stomach told him she wasn't being completely honest with him, but another part of him warned not to push it, not to go there, not now anyway.

So he replied, "well it's gonna be another busy day tomorrow, let's get some sleep," and with a quick peck to her nose, he rolled over to face away from her and promptly fell asleep.

* * *

"Wild Turkey?" Rogue asked with a smirk as she approached the fire a little after midnight that evening, where Logan was sitting all alone, the liquor bottle with the picture of a turkey on the label gripped tightly in his fist.

"Bourbon," he mumbled in return, only glancing up at her for a moment then quickly returning his attention to the cigar he was grinding between his teeth.

"Thank god."

Logan's gaze quickly flashed up to her eyes at the oddity of her comment, he raised an eyebrow as she continued her approach finally reaching out to take the half empty bottle from his grasp.

"What?" She smirked at his obvious amazement, "you think a girl can't drink?"

His eyebrow only raised higher and the corner of his mouth curled into a slight smirk, "I _know_ you can't," his voice came low and gruff but with a hint of a challenge disguised within that she just _couldn't_ resist, she was never one to back away from a challenge.

Rogue turned, giving him a slight nod telling him she accepted his silent dare. Taking a seat on the log opposite him, her eyes flashed with excitement, god she was gonna love proving him wrong. The night was silent and clear, all the others had gone to bed and been asleep for hours already. The soft hum of grasshoppers and the croak of the odd frog were the only sounds around them, making it eerily comforting. The moon was full and there wasn't a cloud to be seen for miles, only millions of stars and nothing else.

Rogue glanced lazily up at the magical sky soaking it all in, but Logan seemed uninterested, he only watched her silently, waiting for her to inevitably wretch up all the whiskey she was about to consume. But she remained confident, lowering her gaze from the beauty above her she gave him a quick wink and placed the bottle to her mouth tossing her head back, her hair flowed serenely down the back of her silken pajamas and her plump red lips curled into a sweet but confident smile around the mouth of the bottle.

She chugged down several ounces without so much as a flinch and finally lowered her head giving him a smug look of satisfaction as she let the bottle rest on her knee.

Logan only gaped back at her, the cigar that had only moments ago been clamped tightly between his teeth, was now hanging limply on the edge of his lip and not one, but two eyebrows were raised at her in amazement. Even _he_ had to scowl sometimes when he drank that shit, it tasted so foul.

"What, did you turn into a lush after I left?" He asked, chewing down on the end of his cigar once again and staring over at her in disbelief.

"No," she giggled, already feeling the effects of the liquor, "I had someone constantly nagging me to go out and drown my sorrows in a drink."

His eyes flicked up to meet her stare, "who?" he asked, his fists clenching and the metal claws behind his knuckles itched to spring free, his eyebrows furrowed and an intense scowl formed on his lips at the thought of anyone contaminating _his_ Marie in such a way.

"You," she replied flatly.

He only looked back at her in confusion, his clenched fists lowering to lie back in his lap as he watched her tap her temple with her index finger giving him a wink.

Logan's eyes widened in realization, "you still got me up there?" He reached across the fire and she passed him the bottle.

"Yeah, a little."

She watched him down nearly twice what she had just drank and as he lowered the bottle, his eyes lowered to the ground, unable to meet her stare, "sorry about that kid," he mumbled, his voice filled with shame for laying his burden on her that way.

"Don't be, I kinda like having you up here."

He glanced up quickly, but then let his eyes drop back down to the dirt as he mashed a spider in the sand beneath his boots.

She went on, feeling the need to finally say some of the things she'd been keeping pent up for so long, "I kinda like having this little part of you that no one else will ever have."

"Too bad it had to come at such a high price," he mumbled in return, taking another swig of the clear yellow liquid that was quickly disappearing from the bottle in his hand.

She didn't reply, she knew what he meant and as much as she liked the idea of having a piece of Logan in her head, she definitely could've lived without the gut wrenching nightmares every night.

"So what're ya doin' up so late?" He asked taking another swig of whiskey and reaching the bottle back across the fire to Rogues outstretched hand.

They'd been out searching the canyon for Magneto's base pretty much all day and were all exhausted when they'd returned late that evening to the small camp they'd pitched near the north rim of the canyon. She was beat and should have been dead to the world by now, it had been a forced effort for anyone to even _want_ to make dinner, though they were all starving, somehow sleep seemed more important. So after a quick meal of canned soup and bread everyone vanished into their tents for a good nights sleep. But after Scott had fallen asleep she'd lain awake in her sleeping bag for nearly an hour before finally deciding to join Logan by the fire. She didn't want to sleep anyway… right?

"Couldn't sleep," she lied, grabbing the bottle and downing several more shots and not so much as hinting at a scowl from the fowl taste in her mouth.

"Couldn't or afraid to?" Logan asked with a knowing glance, he'd seen that look on her face a thousand times before whenever he'd looked in mirror at himself late at night debating whether or not to go to sleep.

Her eyes shot up to meet his, flickering back and forth between them she searched deep until she saw something familiar, something she'd seen a thousand times before in her own eyes whenever she'd looked in the mirror debating whether or not to try and sleep.

"Afraid," she admitted sullenly and with a deep sigh turned her gaze back to the canyon floor beneath her feet.

They sat in silence for what began to feel like forever. One wondering how he could have placed such a heavy burden on someone he loved so dearly and the other wondering how he'd managed to live with such torture for so long, when she felt as though she was ready to break if forced to endure even one more of his terrible nightmares.

'_God,'_ she thought silently, _'it's no wonder his soul is so tortured - no wonder he's always so harsh and feels the need to drown himself in alcohol – no wonder he took Jeans death so hard, when she was one of the only things in his life that made him feel like less of an animal – feel more human – normal even.'_

Rogue's stomach turned inside her and she began to feel extremely nauseous. Not because of the obscene amount of whiskey sitting in the pit of her stomach, but because she was suddenly overwhelmed with an all consuming guilt over the horrid things she'd said to him when he'd decided to leave. She finally understood why he had to go, why he hadn't been able to talk to her about it and why he had stayed away so long. It was the only way he knew to deal with his grief and guilt over Jean's death.

'_Fuck!'_ She scolded herself silently.

They sat in silence for several more minutes until Rogue couldn't hold it in any longer, "I'm sorry," she choked out between the tears that had formed in her large brown eyes and were now making their way down her cheeks. She didn't know if it was the bourbon talking and guiding her emotions or what brought this on, but it was too late now, the tears had taken over and she had no control to stop them.

Logan snapped his eyes up to meet hers, surprised to see them filled with tears that she struggled to wipe away angrily, "for what?" His voice was a bare whisper, but sincere just the same.

"For all the horrid things I said to you when you left," her chest heaved beneath the weight of her emotions and she tried desperately to regain her composure and collect her voice, "and for all the awful things I said to you _after_ you were gone."

His face softened as he watched her sob from across the fire, the flames flickering wildly in her tear filled, doe eyes, a few stray strands of long white hair sticking to her wet cheeks and the whites of her eyes already red and bloodshot from crying. But through it all, she was the most beautiful creature he'd ever laid eyes on and he felt guilty as hell for the thoughts that consumed his mind while she was obviously so upset.

He shook his head, as if to somehow knock the images from his mind and stood, walking around the small campfire to sit beside her. His strong muscular arm wrapped around her shoulder as he pulled her in close to his chest. She didn't struggle; only fell willingly into his arms burying her face in his chest.

'_God he smelled good.'_

"Don't worry about it kid," he said softly, his usual low grumble completely lost as he did his best to sound comforting while he rubbed his hand over the softness of the silk material covering her arms, "I told you, I gave you every reason to hate me, you're allowed to feel that way."

She heaved in his arms for several moments trying desperately to collect herself and finally managed to look up at him, into his sympathetic hazel eyes that searched hers for some sign that she would be ok.

"But I _don't_ feel that way Logan," she sniffled, "I was wrong and I…" she cut her words short, staring blankly back at him, not really sure what she was going to say and not really sure that she should go on for fear of what she may end up saying.

He stared back down at her waiting for her to finish, a distinct lump formed in his throat the moment her words hitched and he wondered what she would have said had she not stopped. Something told him it was important, something he wanted to hear her say, something she wanted to say, but she fell silent and dropped her head back down to his chest wiping the last of her tears on the front of his uniform.

For several moments she sat there, her tear streaked cheeks pressed into his chest, his strong arm wrapped snugly around her shoulder, she didn't want to move, somehow this moment, this… whatever it was, just felt right. She even caught herself several times breathing overly deep, trying desperately to inhale some of his scent, to lock it away in her memory for use at a later time.

"Oh god there it is," she breathed in a bare whisper as the smell of cigars, whiskey and a hint of sweat that was unmistakably Logan filled her senses. It was almost heavenly, so many memories flooded her head, so many thoughts and feelings, she didn't know if it were possible, but she was sure at that moment that _nothing_ could get her as excited as she felt right then.

"There what is?" Logan broke the silence after her odd statement.

She could feel him staring down at her, his eyes boring into the top of her head as her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. _'God, had she said that out loud?'_ She hadn't meant to, she was only comforting herself, but it must have slipped out in the moment, _'think of something Rogue, quick.'_

"Nothing," she finally whispered, not moving from the spot she'd settled into on his chest.

It was silent for several more moments.

"You sure?" He finally asked again, resting his chin on the top of her head that was still pressed against him and wrapping his other arm around her at the feel of her shiver in the night air.

There was no response, she was fast asleep.

**Hope you all enjoyed this installment! Please don't forget to review! I need INSPIRATION:o)**


	8. Nightmare

**Rating:** PG-13 (for some coarse language)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own X-men or any of its characters, this is just for fun!

**Thanks again to all of you who have reviewed so far, your wonderful comments are so encouraging and I really appreciate them! **

**And of course, special thanks go out to UKTara for proofing this for me yet again!**

**Enjoy! And please don't forget to review, I live for it! (Yes, I know, I have no life ;o) )**

**Chapter 8: Nightmare**

"Mmm grmmff mm mm…"

Silence.

"Mmm no… mmmff no!"

Silence again.

"Grrmmff mmm… rgh… NO!"

Rogue's eyes finally flew open as she gasped for air, desperately looking around to get her bearings. Where was she? She couldn't remember. Her head was so clouded with images –

_Green lights boring into her eyes nearly blinding her - men… men in black masks – they were everywhere, but she could only make out the whites of their eyes. The lights were so bright but yet the room seemed so dark - everything was blurry – why couldn't she see? The men – where did they go? _

_God her eyes stung – like someone had poured lemon juice in them, she blinked furiously to try and clear her vision but nothing seemed to help._

_Wait-_

_Was she in water?_

_She thrashed her arms wildly around her but they couldn't move very far, only a few inches on either side of her body before they clunked painfully into something. _

_Where was she?_

_She tried to look around, her vision still blurred making the entire room look as though she were viewing it through someone else's prescription glasses. She stretched out her hands again, and again they smacked into something hard, she pressed her palm up against it, feeling desperately around for some tell tale sign of where she was._

_Her eyes' fluttered open again, this time looking to her sides she realized she was in some kind of a tank - a glass tank. She gasped for breath but her mouth and lungs only filled with water causing her to thrash wildly trying to break free. Hundreds of bubbles began to rise up in the liquid surrounding her as she screamed for freedom, screams that no one seemed to hear. She continued to thrash her arms and legs violently trying to reach the surface and find a breath of air, but her efforts were fruitless. The men above her only pinned her down harder, she couldn't move now. Arms and legs clamped mercilessly to her sides and some sort of belt was strapped around her midsection holding her firmly in place._

_She screamed again, her voice muffled through the water as she used every ounce of strength she had to try and break free from her bonds._

_Wait._

_Her left hand was loose._

_She threw it out in front her once again trying desperately to grab onto something and pull herself out of this glass prison that was slowly killing her. And that's when she saw it. _

_Her hand. _

_She stopped fighting, staring up at it waving slowly in front of her. Was that her hand? It didn't look right._

_She scrunched her fingers closed into a fist then open again, watching the slight movement with the utmost fascination as though she'd never seen her own hand before._

_But it wasn't._

_That wasn't her hand. _

_She fisted it again, then released spreading her fingers apart. _

_It wasn't her hand, that was Logan's hand!_

_Her eyes drifted down toward her torso, the world still a blurry mess of green and black light but she managed to clear her eyes enough to see what she needed. It wasn't Rogue trapped, it was Logan._

_She was Logan._

_She lay still for several more moments, but as the oxygen continued to slowly slip out of her lungs and it became increasingly difficult to breathe, she began thrashing wildly again, desperately trying to break free._

And suddenly she'd found herself sitting out in the sand, her upper torso erect and trembling with fear, her entire body soaked in a freakishly cold sweat and her hands clenched tightly around a nearby branch. She scampered to get up off the ground, the dream still so vivid in her head and her heart pounding fiercely in her chest as she threw herself back against a tree shaking violently.

"Calm down Rogue, calm down," she whispered to herself, trying desperately to catch her breath.

Her eyes shot around her, taking in every sliver of light - every movement - every sound. She was still in the canyon, several small tents surrounded her, and the fire she'd sat at the previous evening sat in smoldering black ashes nearby.

Her heart rate began to slow, eventually returning to its normal pace, the wild look in her eyes began to fade, and eventually revealed the scared young woman hiding behind an almost animalistic shell. Her fingernails, which she'd dug deep into the skin of the tree finally relaxed, letting a few small bits of bark fall to the ground when she finally released her grip.

She leaned back, letting the weight of her tiny body rest against the tree behind her, her eyes drifting slowly upward finally settling on the large moon that still hung brightly in the midnight sky.

'_God I hate nights like these,'_ she thought, doing her best to focus her thoughts on the moon, the stars, or the light breeze rustling the leaves, anything but the horrifying images still fresh in her mind. It absolutely tore her heart out to think that Logan had to deal with these nightmares every day of his life for so many years. She'd only been enduring them for a little over six years and it had been enough to make her consider suicide on more than one occasion. How he was so strong about it was beyond her.

After several minutes, when she felt collected enough to move again, Rogue pushed herself off the large tree and headed toward the jet. She had to get out of there for a while, clear her head, feel the wind against her cheeks and hopefully blow out some of the images that were now burned in her brain.

Silently she slipped through the camp making her way past the brightly colored tents that contained her sleeping fellow X-Men. It was still early, her watch read 3:34 am, surely they'd all be asleep for a few more hours giving her a chance to get away and clear her head for a while.

When she reached the jet she quickly glanced around making sure no one was watching, or to be more specific, to make sure _Logan_ wasn't watching. She hadn't seen him around since she woke up and with his animal instincts he could be watching her every move from only a stones throw away and she'd never know it. But when she was sure she was alone, Rogue punched in her code and the ramp to the jet lowered.

Only moments later she found herself changed into some blue jeans and a white t-shirt and pushing Scott's candy blue motorcycle down the ramp and out past the camp as quietly as she could. When she'd gotten far enough away, and was sure no one would hear the high pitched squeal of the little crotch rocket Scott always kept on the Blackbird in case of emergency, she hopped on. Discarding the helmet into the dirt the bike roared to life and she was gone in a shot, leaving only a trail of dust in her wake.

God the wind felt good in her hair, refreshing, almost like it could single handedly remove every one of the horrifying images that had filled her head only a short time ago. The squeal of the engine echoed through the canyon walls, getting higher and higher pitched with every shift of the gears, until she was screaming along the dirt road at nearly a hundred and twenty miles and hour. All thoughts of the nightmare were completely forgotten and left behind her, no doubt under a pile of red canyon dirt somewhere.

Down the dirt road she raced, red dust flying up in her face and filling her eyes, but she didn't care, her mind felt free and damn if it wasn't the most exhilarating feeling in the world. She allowed her mind to wander, thoughts of the past few days filling her head, images of the people in her life, Storm, Kurt, the Professor, Jubilee, Kitty, Scott and finally Logan.

And his was the strongest of all, not only filling her mind with images but with his scent, his thoughts, his emotions, everything about him she could feel, down to the bottom of her soul, he was inside her.

"Holy shit!" Rogue suddenly shrieked, jolted viciously out of her thoughts as a shadow leapt out of the brush and stood firmly planted in her path. Wrenching the handlebars to the side the bike skidded violently kicking up a cloud of dust the size of a small house, completely enveloping her, the bike and the mysterious shadow that had surprised her.

"What the hell are you doing!" She shouted angrily tossing the bike to the ground and waiting for the dust to clear so she could see what or who she had nearly killed.

"Better watch out kid," a cocky, but all too familiar voice came out of the dark, "you could kill a person with driving like that."

As the cloud of dust finally cleared, Logan's silhouette appeared before her, worn blue denim hugged tightly to his muscular legs, black boots covered with a skiff of dust, blue and white flannel shirt carelessly buttoned under the trademark leather jacket, it's faded yellow stripes on the arms barely visible now, a stub of a cigar clamped tightly between his teeth and a casual smirk painted on his lips.

"I could've killed you ya know?" Rogue snarled, scowling over at him as she brushed the dust from the front of her jeans.

"Nah," he scoffed, "healing factor, remember?" He raised an eyebrow at her as a cloud of smoke trailed from between his lips filling the air with the sweet scent of cigars.

"Fine then, you could've killed _me."_

"Nah," he discarded her argument as easily as he would brush off a bug, "I'd heal, then I'd touch you and heal you too."

Rogue only stared up at the giant man towering over her, her mouth agape at the casualness of his comment, "are you for real?" She finally managed, shocked at the idea that he could be so mundane about the topic.

"Nah," he began again but before he could continue Rogue cut him off.

"Would you quit sayin' 'nah'!"

'_God, no matter what her feelings for this man, he could still get under her skin like no one else!'_

The corner of his mouth curled up into an even bigger smirk amused at her annoyance, "so where you off to in such a hurry?" His voice was a bare growl, low and deep and his eyes flashed wildly at her in the early morning glow.

"Just needed to get some air."

He let out a snort of disbelief and she turned to scowl up at him.

"Funny that you'd need _air_ when we're out in the middle of a desert canyon, surrounded by nothing _but air_," Logan clamped back down on his cigar, chewing on it viciously as if it had wronged him in some way.

"You _know_ what I mean," Rogue frowned, obviously not impressed with the way he was acting.

She turned away from him, bending down to pick the bike up out of the dirt and began inspecting it for damage. Scott would freak if she got it all scratched up or broke anything, especially 'cause he hated it when she ran off like this without telling him. She softly brushed her hand over the warm smoothness of the gas tank and down over the seat dusting off the film of red dirt that had managed to cover every inch of the machine. Fortunately other than being a bit dirtier than it was before, it didn't look any worse for wear and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Where do you think you're goin'?" Logan grumbled, grabbing her arm when she made a move to get back on the bike.

"No where, I just needed to clear my head, I already told you that," she paused, tearing her arm out of his strong grip and lifting her leg over the bike to sit down, "don't worry, I'm not runin', I'll be back in a bit," she smirked up at him mirroring the look on his face.

He only stared down at her at first, his face not revealing any of the thoughts that were circling through his mind. Until, "move over," Logan grunted, pressing his hand to her chest and in one swift motion, firmly slid her back on the seat of the bike and swung his leg over to take a seat in front of her.

"And just what the hell do you think yer doin'?" Rogue remarked sarcastically, jabbing him in the shoulder blade with her index finger several times.

"I'm goin' with ya."

"I don't need a babysitter Logan."

"Who said anything 'bout babysittin' darlin', I'm just goin' along for the ride."

"Pfftt!" She rolled her eyes, "yeah right, you just think I can't take care of myself, well you're wrong, I've bin…"

He swiftly cut her words short, "shut up and hold on kid." The last syllable had barely left his lips when the engine roared to life and the two took off down the dirt road kicking up a thick cloud of dust that swirled out behind them.

"Shit!" Rogue wrapped her arms tightly around Logan's waist, squeezing desperately to hold on and regain her balance from the unexpected take off.

* * *

They'd been driving for nearly half an hour before either of them spoke, down one long deserted road after another, the scenery never changing, big empty canyon on one side, big empty flat desert of nothing on the other.

But Logan finally cut through the silence, yelling back to her over the roar of the wind rushing by them, "so what was it this time?"

"What was what?" She replied speaking directly into his ear so she wouldn't have to scream, but knowing full well what he was referring to.

"Marie," he only said her name, his voice almost condescending; he knew she knew what he was talking about and he made sure to use her _real_ name to make sure she knew he wasn't fooling around.

"Stryker," she replied with a sigh resting her chin on his shoulder as Logan braked slightly, calming the wind that rushed by them so they wouldn't have to yell back and forth.

"Figured as much."

"How did you know?"

"Why else would ya be out here all alone kid?"

She didn't reply, only squeezed her arms tighter around his midsection until she could almost feel the adamantium on his bones pressing into her. She couldn't see it, but when he felt her arms tighten around him his smile widened and his entire body was filled with a warmth he only seemed to get when she as around.

They continued on a while longer, Rogue with her arms wrapped tightly around him, unable to identify the mish mash of feelings that were coursing through her veins and Logan doing his best to keep his focus on the road and away from the nagging thoughts trying to remind him of how close her breasts were to him.

But only moments later their silent journey was unexpectedly interrupted.

"Shit," Logan mumbled under his breath, barley audible so Rogue hardly managed to pick it up.

"Logan what's wro…"

She didn't even get the last word out when Logan's body jerked violently out of her arms flying straight up in the air off the bike and leaving Rogue to hunch forward quickly grabbing the bars trying to bring the speeding motorcycle to a stop. She watched in horror as his body made an abrupt ninety degree turn in the air and flew across the road, his bulky frame being tossed like a rag doll into a nearby tree where he remained pinned. His arms were stretched wide out to his sides, legs pinned straight down below him and his head knocked back against the hard bark with a thud she could almost feel, the disturbing image wasn't unlike that of a crucifixion causing Rogue to nearly wretch in dry heaves at the sight.

"Logan!" She cried out, dropping the motorcycle to the ground with a crash.

"Kid wait!" He growled back, barely able to move even just his lips, his body frozen to that spot, unable to fight - unable to help her – and he knew why - she wasn't safe - she had to get out of there - now!

"Run!" He forced the word out, trying to shout but it only came out as a mere whisper, his jaw felt as though someone had glued it shut, every part of him felt seized, reminding him of the tin man in that horrid Wizard of Oz movie Rogue had made him watch a few years back.

"No Logan!" She screamed picking up her pace and running toward him ignoring his warning for her to stay away.

"Kid…" Logan tried again, but his words were cut short by a third voice, one neither of them had heard in a _very_ long time.

"Well well well, isn't this a pleasant surprise."

Rogue skidded to a stop and whirled around, her jaw dropping in disbelief at what her eyes saw, "what the hell do you want?" She seethed as Magneto and Mystique emerged from the small amount of brush at the side of the road heading straight toward her.

"Temper temper," he smirked, continuing his approach.

"You lay one finger on her an I'll…" Logan managed to growl from where he still hung pinned to the large tree.

"Or you'll what?" Magneto spat, "_you_ aren't going anywhere." As if on cue of his harsh words, Magneto's hand flew out in front of him and Logan's head was smashed back against the trunk of the tree only to fall limply to his chest, eyes closed and no fight left, he was out cold.

"No!" Rogue shrieked running toward him, completely disregarding Magneto's presence, "Logan no!"

"Ah ah ah not so fast."

His condescending tone grated her nerves and she stopped dead in her tracks, making a turn back toward Magneto, with every intention of strangling him with her bare hands. If the lack of oxygen didn't kill him, her poison skin would. Rogue's eyes narrowed to mere slits and her mouth turned down into a ferocious snarl one would only expect from the Wolverine and not from such a pretty young girl. But there was enough of the Wolverine left in her that she wasn't about to put up with any of Magneto's bullshit.

She broke into a run, straight towards him, no second thoughts, no regrets about the decision she'd made only a moment ago, she was going to kill him.

"Mystique," he said calmly with not so much as a hint of worry in his voice that the girl with the poison skin was about to attack him. And Mystique was upon her, the slender blue form flipped gracefully through the air toward her and with a swift kick to Rogue's knee, she was down. Only a moment later, before she even had a chance to jump back up, a long length of metal wire was flying toward her, and within seconds her hands and feet were tightly bound, she was pinned, unable to struggle or fight, feeling just as she had when she'd been trapped in that awful glass tank. Now what was she going to do?


	9. Deuces are Wild

**A/N: **Hey everybody! I'm so enthused about this story, and seem to spend every waking moment on it these days! Last night Logan and Rogue kept me up until 4:30 in the morning writing this! So I sure hope you like it.

**Quick note:** To Roguechere, no this time it isn't a dream LOL, I wouldn't do that to you twice! I'm not that mean ;o) (I'm so glad you're enjoying it though, despite my meanness in Chapter 6!)

**Rating:** PG-13 (for some coarse language)

**Disclaimer:** Do you really think I own X-Men or any of its characters? Hmmm… if you do… interesting thought, but unfortunately I don't… bummer.

**Thanks again to all of you who have reviewed so far, your wonderful comments are so encouraging and I really appreciate them! My goal is to break 100 reviews with this story, please don't forget to RR! My heart seriously skips a beat when I open my e-mail and there's a review to be read :D**

**And of course, special thanks go out to UKTara for proofing this for me yet again!**

**Oh and one last thing, this chapter was inspired by Aerosmiths, "Deuces are Wild", hence the title.**

**With that being said, ENJOY!**

**Chapter 9: Deuces are Wild**

Rogue slowly opened her eyes, trying desperately to look around and see where she was. What had happened? She remembered stealing Scott's bike, she remembered running into Logan on that deserted road and the two of them roaring off together in a cloud of red dust.

But what happened after that?

She blinked furiously trying to clear her blurred vision, she appeared to be in some sort of a room, the walls made completely of sandstone towered above her nearly twelve feet to the ceiling. She couldn't make out any windows through the unrelenting darkness and there only appeared to be one exit, a large wooden door on the opposite side of the room. It was far away but she could see clearly enough to tell there was a large deadbolt securing it shut, insuring that she wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon.

As her eyes began to adjust to the dimly lit room she managed to get a better look around, the room was extremely large and empty, as far as she could see there was no furniture or any other items to speak of. A single torch hanging on the far wall near the door provided the only light and by the looks of it, it wouldn't be burning for much longer and she'd be left in blackness.

'_Damn it,'_ she thought, _'where's Pyro when you really need him?'_

She struggled to get up off the cold dirt floor, her entire body felt numb as shivers ran up and down the length of her slender frame. Rogue rubbed her hands vigorously over her arms in an attempt to warm them, but it was useless, she was chilled to the bone and when she finally looked down at herself, she realized why.

Her shirt was gone! _'What the hell?'_

Her eyes narrowed, squinting to try and get a better look at herself in the blackness that surrounded her, shoes and socks were gone, leaving only bare feet to pad through the cold dirt that covered the floor. She still wore her jeans, _'thank god!' _but her t-shirt was gone leaving only her white bra to cover her, and it was doing a terrible job of keeping her warm. Another set of chills coursed through her and she shuddered letting her teeth chatter slightly.

"Grrrrrrrr…."

Rogue whirled around in the dark as the low throaty growl of a wild animal resonated around her, penetrating straight through to her bones.

"Who's there?" She called out softly, her eyes scanning the room, desperately searching for the source of the noise while also looking for something she could use as a weapon if the situation so called for it. Her heart was racing and her mind in a complete blur, _'god if only it wasn't so damn dark in here.' _

"Grrrrrrr….."

Another low throaty growl came from the dark, only this time Rogue didn't start, in fact, she stopped dead in her tracks and whispered, "Logan?"

For a moment there was only silence and again her eyes scanned the room hoping against hope that it would be him and he would answer her, or if nothing else, that she would be able to find a large stick or a rock, anything that might help her defend herself. But then finally it came.

"Kid?"

She didn't even have time to think. The moment his voice hit her ears she found herself running full tilt across the room enveloping herself in blackness the further away from the torch she got.

"Logan?" She called out again, slowing her pace when it became to dark to see.

"Yeah kid, I'm here, follow my voice."

Her hands raised out in front of her as she treaded more carefully now in the direction of his low rumble.

"Umph!" She thudded against the wall nearly smacking her head against the hard stone.

"You ok?"

"Yeah," she replied, taking a step back and feeling her way along the wall, her fingers sliding between each of the rough bricks causing mud and sand to pack uncomfortably under her fingernails. But finally she felt him, first her left hand, then her right, slowly ran over the smooth muscles that were his biceps and up over his shoulders until she was standing in front of him. She blinked several times waiting for her eyes to adjust to the dark and when they finally did, it looked as though he'd appeared out of no where in front of her.

"Oh god Logan!" Her voice was filled with desperation as she wrapped her arms tightly around him, but he didn't hug her back. "Logan where are we, what's going on?" She clung to him like a lifeline, her face buried in his chest as the tears began to sting her eyes.

"I dunno kid," he replied gruffly, still not returning her embrace.

She let go, taking a step back, "what's wrong?" She asked, her eyes searching the dark desperately for some answers, until finally she saw it. Logan was shackled to the wall. Two large iron bands, each probably and inch and a half wide were clamped around his wrists and in turn chained to the wall above his head. His shirt was missing exposing the tanned skin of his bare chest which was heaving up and down in an effort to breathe, he still wore his old tattered blue jeans but his boots and socks were missing just as hers were. His shackles were mounted so high up on the wall that he could barely touch the floor, he stood up on his toes trying desperately to keep his balance and no doubt deal with the pain that was coursing through his body.

"Oh god," Rogue whispered at the sight of him, her voice hitching in her throat so it only came out as a mere squeak.

"I'm alright kid, are you ok?" The strain in Logan's voice was unmistakable, it was obvious that it was taking every ounce of strength he had to sound normal and reassure her.

"Logan we've gotta get you outta here," Rogue choked the words out, trying to sound brave, but shaking like a frightened child on the inside, her tiny fingers fidgeting with the locks on his wrists in a vein effort to try and unlatch them.

"It's no use kid, we need a key."

The tears in Rogue's eyes finally became to overwhelming to hold back and they began streaming down her cheeks leaving thin clean lines in the dust patches on her face. Her chest heaved up and down as the sobs escaped that she'd tried hopelessly to hold back.

"Hey hey hey," Logan growled at the sound of her cries echoing through the blackness, "crying's not gonna solve anything, pull it together kid, we'll get outta here."

Rogue's hands dropped from Logan's chains down to her sides and she turned leaning back to let the wall support her weight while she took a few deep breaths in and out trying to calm down.

"You alright?" He finally asked when there was only silence in the room.

"Yeah."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

They stood in silence for a while after that, neither sure what to say, and both equally confused about the strange situation they'd found themselves in. After a few minutes Rogue slid down the wall, her back scraping along the rough stone until she was sitting on the cold floor, her knees pulled up in front of her chest and her arms hugged tightly around them.

"What do we do now?"

"I dunno kid," Logan replied, straining his neck to look down at her staring back up at him, "I really don't know."

"When was the last time you saw them?" The professor's voice crackled with static through the COM link in the jet.

"They were both with us at the camp last night," Storm replied confidently, glancing back at Scott who stood beside her looking a lot less confident and a lot more feral than his counterpart. "But when we woke up this morning they were both gone, along with Scott's motorcycle."

There was only silence on the other end.

"They've been gone for hours Professor," Scott said, his voice hard and filled with a jealousy that was only ever provoked by the man in question.

The silence on the line was finally broken when Professor Xavier's voice crackled through once again, "hold your position, I'm going to use Cerebro to find them, I'll be in touch," and with that there was a click and he was gone leaving Storm, Scott and Kurt wondering what to do next.

"Logan?" Rogue's voice cut like a knife through the silence that had filled the room for the past several hours.

"Yeah?" He replied, his voice still strained from the agony filling his body as all his limbs went from being just numb to feeling almost completely dead.

"What do you think he wants with us?"

"I dunno kid."

"Do ya think he's just after me again and that you just got in his way?"

Logan didn't even get a chance to answer her, when they both stopped short at the sound of a key being slipped into the lock on the door. There was a resounding click that echoed through the darkness followed by the creak of the heavy wooden door opening and the room was suddenly filled with light. The two prisoners blinked furiously, squinting tightly at the sudden shock to their enlarged pupils.

"Ahhh, so we're awake now are we?" Magneto's voice boomed throughout the room as he stepped inside, Mystique following close behind him.

"What the fuck do you want with us bub?" Logan snarled as his eyes finally adjusted to see the old man stalking towards him.

"All in due time my friend," Magneto smirked, "all in due time."

"Let us go!" Rogue yelled as she flew up off the floor toward him, arms outstretched prepared for a fight. But once again, as before, Mystique was one step ahead and the moment Rogue was in reach, her long slender blue arm whipped out smacking her hard across the cheek and sending her flying across the room where she slammed into the wall, falling down in a heap on the floor.

"GrrrRAAHhh!" Logan snarled at the sight, his bound arms and legs fighting to break free so he could finally kill this man in front of him.

"Ah ah ah, _you_ should learn how to control yourself, if you're not good, I won't let you out of those bonds." Magneto quickly turned on his heel heading back out of the room, "Mystique," he snapped shortly, motioning for her to follow him.

Logan could only hang there and watch as the pair exited the room, but just before the door closed Magneto stopped, looking back over his shoulder at the helpless Wolverine hung like an animal on the wall.

"I don't think you'll be going anywhere anytime soon," he scowled, raising a hand in Logan's direction letting the metal shackles fall with a loud clang to the floor and leaving Logan to drop in a heap beside them. The door slammed shut and the two prisoners once again disappeared into silent darkness.

* * *

"Scott, Ororo are you there?"

"Yes professor we're here," Storm replied smoothly, but the relief in her voice undeniable that Xavier had finally gotten back to them, "did you find Rogue and Logan?"

There was a brief silence, leaving the three mutants in the jet waiting in agony for good news they somehow knew they were never going to get.

"No, I'm sorry," he finally responded, "but I did sense something I've not felt since…" his final words trailed off. The three in the jet didn't seem to even notice and Charles was rather glad for that, he wasn't sure if he was quite ready to share this new information with the group, _just yet_.

"Damn it!" Scott swore, completely disregarding Xavier's last words as he smashed his hands in an almost childlike fashion on the dashboard of the jet.

"But professor," Storms voice of reason interrupted Scott's tantrum, "how can that be? Cerebro should be able to pick them up no matter where they are, are you sure you didn't miss them somehow?"

"I'm quite positive Ororo," Charles replied firmly.

"Zen vhere can zey be?" Kurt asked quietly from his seat in the back.

The three waited impatiently for the response, although they all knew what it would be even before they heard it.

"I fear Magneto already has them."

There was only silence on the line.

"It's the only explanation for their sudden disappearance and my inability to find them with Cerebro. Wherever this base is that Magneto's been operating out of, he's obviously shielded it from me, that is why I had such a difficult time locating him in the first place, and I believe that is why I am unable to locate Logan and Rouge now."

"So what do we do now?" Storm's voice only came as a bare whisper at the thought of their friends in danger.

"Well," Charles replied, "as Logan would say, 'you'll have to do it the old fashioned way, look'."

* * *

"Hey kid," Logan's voice came low and rough as his hand brushed her locks of platinum hair from her eyes, "Rogue, wake up," he tried again.

"Mmm…?" She mumbled, her eyes remaining closed.

"Come on kid," he urged, running his fingers up through her long dark hair trying to nudge her awake, but all the while careful not to touch her skin, not knowing if she would be able to control it in her condition.

"Logan?" Her eyes fluttered open to look up at him through the darkness.

"Hey," he smirked letting out a sigh of relief. She'd hit the wall so hard when Mystique attacked her, he was beginning to wonder if she wasn't just knocked out and if maybe she was seriously hurt. "You ok?"

"Yeah, I guess," Rogue mumbled, pushing herself up from where she lay on the floor so she could sit leaning her weight against him. "Damn, I wish that bitch would stop hitting me," she half joked, half growled, rubbing her head where she'd contacted the wall.

He smiled at her attempt at a joke, "yeah well, it's a hard-knock life."

Her eyes shot over to him, a definite smile forming on her lips, "I can't believe you just said that," she laughed remembering the night she'd forced him to watch "Annie" with her.

"_You've gotta be fuckin' kidding me Marie," he growled miserably._

"_Oh don't be such a baby Logan, it's not gonna kill you, you've got yer beer and yer cigar, now just shut up and watch the movie."_

_She grinned so wide at the idea of him sitting through "Annie", he knew she was getting the laugh of a lifetime on the inside and was inclined to high tail it out of there right then. That is until she turned that pouty smile and those puppy dog eyes of hers on him, and in one swift motion melted his resolve, making him sit down on the couch next to her to endure the film._

For a moment Logan's face looked worried, like he hadn't even realized what he'd said until it was too late. He'd never told her that he'd secretly enjoyed the movie, instead he'd kept up his gruff exterior and pretended to hate it, grumbling about what a waste of time it had been and that she'd never get him to do it again. But of course she had. He couldn't even count how many chick flicks, so she called them, that she'd convinced him to sit through, Dirty Dancing, Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles, the list went on and on. Sure made it tough for a guy to maintain his 'bad guy' image when people kept walking in on you watching shit like that.

"Sworn to secrecy right?" Logan finally grumbled, more at himself for what a pansy he'd become, than anything.

"Scouts honor," Rogue smiled back at him raising her middle and index finger in traditional Boy Scout fashion.

The two sat in silence for quite a while before Rogue finally asked the question again, she'd asked several times before and knew he wouldn't have an answer for her this time either, but deep down she had to keep hoping that he would have a plan to get them out of this mess.

"So what do you think he wants with us?"

He hesitated to respond, at first just squeezing his arms tighter around her tiny waist tighter pulling her in closer to his chest, where she rested her head back on his shoulder behind her.

"I wish I knew darlin'."

"Do ya think there's a way outta here?" She drawled, her southern accent coming out thicker than usual.

"Don't seem ta be, I checked the place over while you were out. Would help if it wasn't so damn dark in here."

It was quiet for several minutes.

"Logan?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you somethin'?"

"Shoot."

"Why did you _really_ come back?" Rogue paused, but before he could answer she continued, "why now? Why after all this time?"

His voice caught in his throat. How could he answer that? What should he tell her? The truth?

'_I'm in love with you Marie.' _The words resonated in his head, echoing as though they'd been yelled out over the canyon. God, he couldn't tell her that. Not now. He'd only serve in ruining the perfect life she'd managed to make for herself, and even if that life was with _One Eye_ he didn't want to be the one to take that away from her.

"Logan?" She asked again when he didn't answer.

"Just figured it was time to set things straight is all," he finally replied in a bare mumble when he couldn't think of anything else to say.

"What things?"

"Things with you."

Her head tilted up to look at him, her eyes flashing wildly with the flicker of the torch light and he looked down to meet her gaze. They were held frozen in that moment.

He was leaned up against the cold hard sandstone wall, the bare skin of his back scratching uncomfortably on it like sandpaper, only to be contrasted by the soft smoothness of her milky white skin pressed into his chest.

He stared down at her and she stared back at him.

She could feel every muscle in his chest pressing against her, his warm body radiating heat into hers and that tiny line of hair down his stomach tickling her back when he moved. But her eyes remained glued to his. God her heart was racing, she hoped he couldn't feel it.

'_Is that her heart?'_ Logan wondered, at the strange sensation he was getting, almost throbbing directly into his chest. It almost felt more like a vibration than a heart beat, it was so fast.

Or was it _his_ heart?

He concentrated for a moment trying to decipher the beat of his own heart from hers. He couldn't. The two were thudding in unison, both abnormally fast, both in an excitement neither of them had felt before and their eyes remained locked on one another.

Then, as if on auto pilot, his neck arced, his head lowering close down to hers. Her eyes widened at first, as if trying to make out his moves, but only moments later they grew heavy, slowly closing the closer he got to her.

'_Damn she smells good.'_

'_Oh god, why does he have to smell so good?"_

His mouth was so close she could feel his breath warm and heavy on her face, the roughness of his five o'clock shadow brushing against her chin.

'_Oh god is this actually happening?" _

Suddenly his mouth was upon her, his lips crashing down on hers and her hands were running up the thickness of his neck and into his unruly hair pulling him closer. His fingers dug deep into her sides and a groan escaped his lips at the mere feel of her in his arms – finally - for real this time - and god if it wasn't a millions times better than the dream. Just the feel of her weight against him was enough to nearly drive him over the edge.

Here they were, trapped in the middle of no where, being held hostage in a cold, dark dungeon, no way of escape and no idea if they would ever be rescued, and he didn't give a damn, those X-geeks could leave them there for the rest of their days for all he cared and he would be happy with her in his arms.

Logan's hands slipped up grabbing a fistful of her long thick hair as his lips traveled down her neck, his tongue trailing and exploring its way along, no cares as to where it was going or where it would end up, just wanting to taste every part of her.

"Oh god," Rogue whimpered as her head fell back making way for his lips to travel down her neck. Her hands spread up his shoulder blades trying to take in every inch of him, and then down they slid, over the soft skin of his lower back, her fingernails digging into him, desperate to feel his body against hers.

She let out a small gasp at the feel of his teeth biting into the soft skin near her throat.

"I'm sorry baby," Logan groaned, breathing heavily and quickly losing his ability to control the animal passion that was slowly over taking him.

"No," she growled, her heart racing even faster than before, "no, it's good."

His teeth sunk into her flesh again, only slightly harder this time, then he released and she raised her head, his tongue traveling slowly up her neck until their eyes locked again, their mouths instantly crushing together. His hands trailed down the curvature of her slender body, eventually slipping down over her jeans where he hooked his fingers in the belt loops swiftly picking her up and resting her in his lap. All the while their lips remaining locked with tongues tangled together in a mess of wet passion and heat.


	10. Some things are better left unsaid

**A/N: **Hey everybody! Thanks again to all of you who have reviewed! You seriously make my day! So I hope you keep reading and enjoying and reviewing!

**Rating:** PG-13 (for some coarse language and some minor sexual suggestion)

**Disclaimer:** Yeah right! As if I own anything, whatever! X-Men aren't mine, nothing is mine, just this computer I'm typing on and that's about it.

**Chapter 10: Some things are better left unsaid**

She could feel the warmth of Logan's strong hands traveling the length of her back, desperately clutching her skin and begging for more. They felt so powerful, so strong, so…

"Logan."

Her voice came as a mere whisper, not really sure what she was doing, but knowing she had to stop this before they did something she was going to regret later.

"Mmm…?" He groaned, his lips continuing to devour her neck as his fingers trailed down her sides finally hooking into the button on the front of her jeans where in one swift motion it was flicked open exposing her black lace panties.

His hands slipped down between her jeans and her bare skin, over the curvature of her ass, desperate, but gentle at the same time, he tugged at the denim and they slowly inched down over her hips.

"Oh god," she murmured, all thoughts of stopping him completely erased from her mind and her entire body elated with an overwhelming desire as her blood ran hot and thick, coursing through her veins at his mere touch. She wanted to feel his hands on her - everywhere on her - touching her - exploring her and she wanted to do the same to him, he felt so good pressed against her. She hooked her fingers through the belt loops on his jeans, pulling him hard against her, he was so warm and she could feel his heart thudding in his chest against hers.

Suddenly Logan gasped, sucking the air from her mouth down into his lungs. She felt it too – the pull – that unmistakable pull that came when she touched someone. She tried to push him away feeling her control beginning to slip, but he grabbed her neck, his large hands wrapping around her pulling her harder against the desperation of his kiss.

She struggled to control the pull – to stop it. But her emotions were in such an uproar it was next to impossible and she felt a small part of him begin to leak into her mind. She gasped as the images and feelings that coursed through her, filling her every sense, overwhelming her mind, body and soul. It was a sensual mix of mental and physical ecstasy, his desire combined with hers, it was something she'd never experienced before and it nearly drove her over the edge.

"No," she mumbled to herself, clawing her fingers deep into the flesh of Logan's back until blood began to trickle down his muscular curves as she struggled to regain control and block the flood of sensations trying to take over her body.

"There ya go," he groaned as the pull finally began to fade and he knew she'd managed to suppress her mutation despite her heightened excitement.

Rogue fought to push the images to the furthest parts of her mind, once again losing herself in the moment and letting her tongue travel down his neck to his chest, tracing an invisible path over each perfectly defined muscle until she reached that thin line of hair leading toward his navel. Her hands stretched up the length of his hard body, clawing desperately at his skin, wanting to feel more of him.

His fingers spread up into her long dark locks, winding there way through them in an almost sensual motion, cupping his hands around the back of her head and pulling her back up to meet his intense stare. Her eyes locked on his, her breath thick and heavy matching his own.

"Logan," she groaned again, pulling away gently when he moved in to kiss her once more.

He stopped, feeling her sudden hesitation. His eyes searched hers until he saw it and he knew what she was going to say. His chest heaved under the strain, fighting to hold the Wolverine back inside him, he knew he couldn't push her on this, though he knew the Wolverine wouldn't hesitate no matter what _she_ wanted. Her eyes were filled with uncertainty hidden behind her desire and he needed her to be sure before they went any further.

"I know," he breathed, his chest heaving with repressed desire as he pulled away from her leaning his weight against the wall and closing his eyes trying to gather his thoughts and pull himself together.

* * *

"What was that!" Storm yelled back to Kurt over the sound of the explosion off in the distance.

"Zounds like our friend iz letting ov zome zteam," Kurt replied, turning his gaze to the direction of the loud blasts coming from across the canyon.

"Take me there!" Storm yelled again over the deafening sound of exploding rock crashing to the canyon floor.

In an instant she'd thrown herself into Kurt's arms and the two vanished into a large cloud of blue smoke, only to reappear a moment later nearly a mile down the canyon.

Rock debris and red dust flew everywhere, the mammoth canyon walls towering around them, once a serene and beautiful sight, now riddled with gaping holes and chasms. An avalanche of red boulders tumbled down the walls only a few feet away from Storm and Kurt when they arrived on the scene, forcing him to grab her in his arms quickly transporting them out of its path and narrowly avoiding being crushed.

"Scott!" Storm shrieked at the sight of her friend systematically blowing giant cavities through the rock.

He whirled around at the sound of her voice, his face twisted and distorted with anger and his finger still firmly hovering over the fire button on his visor. "Stay out of this Storm!" He spat, "this has nothing to do with you!"

"Scott please," she pleaded, walking toward him, her silver cape billowing out behind her as she carefully stepped through the mess of rocks and destroyed plant life lying chaotically on the ground. "Destroying the Grand Canyon isn't going to solve anything," her voice hitched in her throat when she noticed his finger twitch dangerously close to the button. "Please Scott, calm down, we'll find them."

His face contorted even more so at the sound of her voice, "them!" He spat angrily, "them! Do you really think I give a fuck what happens to that son of a bitch?" Scott's stare immediately turned from Storm to the canyon wall behind her as he let another blast of blinding red light release from his visor. Rock and dirt exploded everywhere crashing to the ground in a giant cloud of smoke and dust enveloping the three mutants completely.

"Scott listen to me!" Storm yelled again over the noise of falling rock crashing and blowing apart upon impact, "we'll find _her, _we will." She took a few more steps toward him, stepping carefully, hoping against hope that he wouldn't fly off again and destroy anymore of the beautiful landmark that surrounded them. "Come on now, you can't do this."

Scott's chest heaved up and down with the intensity of his breaths, his clenched fist slowly relaxed, as his other hand finally dropped from his visor and the intense scowl on his lips slowly disappeared leaving only a broken man standing in a canyon. "I can't do this again Storm," his voice came only as a bare whisper as his chin dropped to his chest and his fingers ran up through his dusty hair. "I can't lose her, not now."

Storms arm wrapped around her friends shoulder and she squeezed him to her, "you won't," she comforted, the confidence in her voice wavering only slightly as she too wondered where there friends had gotten to and what would happen when they were finally reunited.

"Ve should keep looking," Kurt finally dared, "it vill be dark zoon."

Storm released her grip on Scott's shoulder and turned to look him in the eye, "you ready?"

"Let's go," he mumbled, pulling away from her and leading the way down the canyon.

* * *

"Hey kid," Logan's voice broke through the darkness, the torch had all but gone out leaving the two in almost complete blackness sitting across from one another not really sure what to say after what had just happened between them.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry."

"Me too."

There was only silence.

'_Was he really sorry?' _She wondered, 'w_as she?' _She could still feel his strong hands on her, feeling her, touching her, holding her. The sensation of his tongue tracing patterns over her chest, warm, soft, sensitive and elating all of her senses in an instant. God how she wanted to throw herself into his arms right now and feel him against her once more – really _feel_ him.

They'd been sitting in dark silence for several hours, neither able to sleep and neither knowing what to say if they did decide to speak. It must've been close to midnight already, Logan figured, wishing Magneto hadn't stripped him of his watch when they'd been captured. The fact that there were no windows in this god awful room _and_ having no watch made it impossible to know how much time had really passed, but his internal clock told him it was late. They'd been there too long already, if those X-geeks were going to rescue them, he'd have thought they'd be there by now.

"He needed me after Jean was gone."

Rogue's soft voice suddenly broke the silence that had filled the room. She didn't know if he was awake, he hadn't spoken in hours, but if they were going to be trapped in here together she needed to talk - to do something – anything - or she'd go insane from the deafening silence.

"What?" Logan asked at the sudden intrusion on his thoughts.

"Scott," she began quietly, pushing herself up higher to lean against the wall, "when Jean died, after you left, he needed me."

Logan didn't respond and there was yet another uncomfortable silence.

"But I couldn't help him."

He continued to listen, not interrupting her.

"I was a mess when you left."

He heard her voice catch in her throat and a small gasp escaped as she struggled to fight back the urge to cry.

"For weeks I stayed in my room, locked away from the rest of the students and staff, Bobby left for college, Storm and Kurt searched for John, but I did nothing."

"Kid," Logan murmured, not really knowing what to say, but at the same time knowing full well that anything that happened to her after he left was probably all his fault.

"No," she mumbled, "I need to do this, you need to know."

He fell silent, waiting for her to finish.

"Scott was a mess, he needed someone to help him deal with his grief and the professor suggested that we rely on each other to work through our emotions, but I couldn't. I just wanted to be alone, but eventually the weeks turned into months and I sunk into depression, no desire for anyone or anything. The untouchable girl, all alone, just as it should be, even the one person in the world who promised he'd be by her side through it all, had abandoned her."

"Marie," Logan tried again, but she wouldn't have it.

"I said no!" She spat, the tears stinging at her eyes but she refused to let them fall, he needed to know what went on after he left, he needed to know what he'd left behind so he could understand what he was dealing with now, who he was dealing with now.

Her feelings were in an uproar and had been ever since he'd come home. She didn't know what would happen with her and Scott now; could she go back to the way things were a few days ago before all this started?

Did she even want to?

It was too much to deal with right now, but the one thing she knew for sure, was that Logan needed to know who she was now, he needed to understand that she wasn't that same frightened little girl he'd left behind five years ago. And as much as she loved him, she wasn't about to throw away everything she'd built in his absence just to have him leave again.

"But," she finally went on, "I woke up one night, must've been around midnight or so. My head was spinning, felt like I'd run a marathon or somethin'. There were so many thoughts flooding my mind, it was a mash of pictures and feelings and emotions, some of them mine, but most of them…" Her voice trailed off and she cleared her throat before finally finishing, "yours. You're in my head Logan, always have been and for some reason that night you told me it was time to let you go and move on."

She paused again, but this time he didn't try to interrupt, and she went on, "personally I think Professor X was in my room that night fiddling around with my mind to help me see that it was time to get on with things, although he denies it completely. But never the less, the next day I got up, showered, got dressed and went down to the professor's office. That's when we first started our sessions, he tried leaving subconscious messages in my mind trying to help me gain control over my mutation."

Logan opened his mouth to respond but she cut him short before he had the chance.

"Nearly a year we continued those sessions, day after day of someone invading your mind, scrambling your thoughts about, like your head is some kind of mixing bowl he can just stick his spatula in and toss things around."

"But it finally worked?" He finally managed to ask when she stopped.

"No," she sighed, "no it didn't and fuck was I pissed!"

The way she spat the words made Logan jump as her anger resonated through the dark.

Rogue ran her fingers up through her hair, pulling it back away from her face and twisting it up into a bun that fell apart the moment her fingers released it, leaving her long dark hair falling loosely over her shoulders once again.

"No, after all that the professor was about ready to give up on me, worried that my mind couldn't handle anymore of his intrusions, but I insisted. He didn't know it, but I'd spent every night since we started his treatments meditating in my room, trying to focus and clear my mind in hopes that it may help. I wasn't about to give up, so I suggested hypnosis."

"Hypnosis?" Logan asked raising an eyebrow at her, though she couldn't see it through the dark.

"Yeah, a year and a half we did that."

"And?"

"And…" she paused, a smile crossing her lips at the memory, her tears a distant memory now, "it finally worked."

Logan couldn't help but smile too as he choked back the emotional lump in his throat. He knew better than anyone how badly she'd wanted to control her mutation, he'd only wished he'd been there to help her through it all and most of all to celebrate with her when she finally succeeded.

"I'm sorry kid," he managed, "I shoulda bin there for ya."

"It's alright Logan," she smiled, pleased with herself for being strong enough to tell him the truth, "I'm not mad atcha anymore, I just wanted ya to know is all."

She heard him get up, his body barely visible to her through the darkness, but she didn't need to see him, she heard his bare feet crunch on the sandy floor as he stepped closer to her. He let his back scrape down the roughness of the stone wall, finally taking a seat beside her, their arms touching softly at the shoulder.

"I shoulda bin here anyway," he replied, wrapping his strong arm around her and she leaned into him grateful for the comforting gesture.

* * *

"We have to keep looking Storm!" Scott's angry shouts could be heard echoing throughout the entire canyon.

"It's after midnight Scott!" She tried to reason, but a hint of frustration seeped into her voice from sheer exhaustion of dealing with his anger all day long, "it's pitch black out, we haven't eaten since this morning, we're never going to find them if we all die from exhaustion. We'll resume the search first thing in the morning."

She turned without waiting for his response and he reluctantly followed.

* * *

"Kid?"

"Yeah?"

"So if you and One Ey… uh… I mean Scott, didn't get together right after I left…" his words trailed off to silence, _'shut up Logan,'_ he scolded silently, _'it's none of yer god damn business what she did with her life, just let it go.'_

"How did we end up together you mean?" She smirked at his obvious discomfort, cocking her head to look up at him from where she still rested against the hard muscles of his chest.

He cleared his throat uncomfortably, "yeah."

"Well it just sort of happened, that's all, we didn't plan it or anything."

"That's not an explanation Marie," Logan said, his voice filled with sarcasm at her reluctance to go any further. He didn't know why he was pushing the subject, he didn't really want to know, not _really_. Just the idea of her with One Eye was enough to make him want to put an adamantium claw through something, but for some reason his lips just kept on moving despite the arguments to shut up coming from his brain.

She sighed, "you sure you wanna hear this?"

"Well I don't got anywhere else to go, so you might as well tell me somethin'."

She still hesitated.

Somehow having the conversation with Logan about how she ended up with Scott was something she'd never ever thought of doing, she couldn't possibly think of a more awkward discussion to have.

But then he interrupted her thought with another topic that was even worse than the first one!

"Ok, we don't have to talk about how you ended up together," he growled, a hint of an evil smirk in his tone, "we can talk about something else."

She let out a deep sigh of relief.

"So are you two… uh… y'know?"

She could feel his eyes boring into the top of her head waiting for an answer.

"What?" She half laughed in shock that he would ask such a thing and immediately pulled away from his chest, turning to search out his eyes in the dark.

"You heard me, "he chuckled, "are you and One Eye… y'know?"

"Logan!" She gasped, hitting him on the chest causing a loud smacking noise to echo through the room.

"Ow!" He laughed at her pathetic attempt to hit him and rubbed his hand over the point of impact in a vain attempt to look hurt, "come on kid, you always use to tell me everything, no need to stop now."

"I'm not telling you that!"

"Marie," he growled, turning his eyes down at her and giving her that look that said, _'you'd better tell me now or you'll be sorry.'_

She'd been the loser in many a Logan tickle fight before and was reluctant to even think about going there again so she relented, "alright alright," her hands flew up in front of her in surrender. "I'll tell you."

"I'm listening," he leaned back against the wall folding his arms across his chest with a smug look of amusement on his lips.

"You promise not to laugh?"

"Nope."

"Fine," she pouted, "but if you laugh I'm taking the gloves off and yer gonna get it."

"Yer not wearing gloves kid," he jabbed, already doing his best not to laugh.

"Grrrr…." She growled, not impressed with his incessant teasing, "you know what I mean!"

"Are you gonna tell me this story or what? I know I have uncharted regenerative capabilities but I'd like to hear this story and get out of here sometime before I die."

She smacked him again.

"Just shut up and listen," she giggled.

'_God she'd missed this with him.'_

It was quiet for a moment and he was about to give her another teasing jab, but she finally spoke before he had the chance.

"Yes."

"Yes?"

"Yes," she repeated, "Scott and I are… intimate."

Logan fell silent.

"Logan?"

He hadn't expected her to say that, something inside him told him she'd waited - that she wouldn't go there with One Eye – or anyone for that matter - that she'd wait for _him_ - _forever_.

"Logan?" She asked again when he still said nothing.

"Uh yeah kid, sorry."

"You ok?"

"Fine, just surprised is all."

She smirked up at him and he caught the slight glint of her teeth in the tiny spark of light that was left from the torch, "you _do_ know that I'm almost twenty three, right? Ya didn't think I was gonna stay a virgin forever did ya?"

His eyes flashed wildly at her use of the word 'virgin' and he felt all his muscles, especially the ones in his groin, tighten up at the thought, "no," he replied, his voice a bare whisper.

Rogue couldn't help but let a chuckle escape as she raised her hand letting her fingers brush softly over his muttonchops, "well sugah, ah do believe yer jealous," her voice was thick with her southern accent as she drawled out the words letting each one take much longer than necessary on her tongue.

He turned to glare down at her, knowing full well she was right but not about to admit it, so he replied confidently, "far from it darlin'," his voice was firm, but inside he was in knots, that thick southern drawl of hers had always gotten to him and this time was no exception - in fact it was worse – much much worse.

They sat there for another moment just inspecting each other closely, both looking for answers in the others eyes. Him wondering if she was getting what she _really_ wanted and her wondering if the jealousy she'd sensed in him only moments ago was only her imagination.

"So how was it?" He finally asked, catching her, as well as himself, completely off guard. He hated every moment of this conversation and regretted starting it in the first place, but for some reason just couldn't seem to keep his big mouth shut and mind his own business. His feelings for her were so strong, but in an effort to keep them hidden he'd somehow started some sort of contest to see how far he could push her. If he came off like an asshole, then hopefully she wouldn't see right through him and realize that none of this was about Scott at all, only about him, his insecurities and how hopelessly in love with her he was.

"You've got to be kidding me!" She laughed, her voice filled with shock and her eyes widening as she stared over at him in disbelief.

"Never been more serious in my life kid, spill."

'_No going back now asshole,' _he thought, _she's gonna tell ya and ya better be prepared for the answer. Fuck! Why did you start this in the first place?'_

"Fine then, two can play at that game," she replied, her voice filled with spite, if he wanted to play dirty she could throw him for a loop he'd never see coming, "I blew a fuckin' hole in the ceiling."

"What?" Logan's voice came flatly.

"The ceiling," she repeated over emphasizing each word, "I – blew – a – hole – in – it."

He only stared back at her in disbelief, "you mean ol' One Eye blew a hole in it?"

"No," she replied defiantly, "_I_ blew a hole in it, _me_."

"How'd you manage that?"

Rogue only stared back at him waiting for him to fit the pieces of the puzzle together, she knew he'd figure it out for himself eventually.

Finally after several moments he replied, "oh," images of Scott and Rogue together, the white sheets of his bed being tossed about, moans of ecstasy slipping from her lips, her losing control of her mutation in the throws of passion and absorbing a small amount of his power, the bright red bursts of energy shooting out of her eyes, past his body weighted over hers and blowing a new skylight in the ceiling of his bedroom, followed by dust and debris crashing down around them while _Scott_ of all people, brought her up to a place she'd never been before.

"Grrrr……" a low growl finally escaped his lips at the thought.

_**Snikt!**_

Three adamantium claws shot out from his right knuckles and were promptly stabbed into the ground next to him. Rogue instantly jumped back away from him, searching his eyes for explanation, the smirk on her face fading away, quickly being replaced by confusion.

His breaths came in deep strangling pants while his chest heaved up and down, the thoughts of _his_ Marie and One Eye still fresh in his mind.

"Logan?" She asked hesitantly, she hadn't wanted to tell him anything about her relationship with Scott, especially after what happened between them earlier. But he'd seemed so okay with it, he started it after all, asking her all these personal questions about it, questions she'd just as soon have avoided. But now he just seemed downright jealous, furious almost. "Logan are you ok?" She dared again.

His breathing finally began to slow as he struggled to muzzle the Wolverine, locking him away in the furthest parts of his mind. The feral glare in his eyes slowly disappeared, claws retracted back behind their fleshy camouflage and the distinct snarl on his lips faded slowly away. He cleared his throat trying his best to sound normal so as not to scare her, he'd seen her back away when his claws had gone into the ground and the last thing he wanted was for her to be afraid of him.

"Yeah kid, I'm fine."

**Hope you all enjoyed! And please remember to Review! Thanks:oD**


	11. Power

**A/N: **Hey everybody! Thanks again to all of you who have reviewed! You seriously make my day! So I hope you keep reading and enjoying and reviewing!

**Rating:** PG-13 (for some coarse language)

**Disclaimer:** Yeah right! As if I own anything, whatever! X-Men aren't mine, nothing is mine, just this piece of crap computer I'm typing on and that's about it.

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 11: Power**

"Kid, wake up!" Logan's hushed voice suddenly echoed through the large empty room.

"Mmm… what?" Rogue mumbled, turning over at the feel of his hands on her shoulders, as her arms scraped roughly on the hard sandy floor when she turned, "what is it?"

"They're coming, get up," his voice came as a bare whisper through the blackness, but was filled with an urgency that let her know he wasn't kidding.

Her eyes immediately flew open and she scampered to get up off the floor and stood beside him, his large bulky frame towering over hers.

"Did you sleep?" She asked softly, turning to try and make out his silhouette against the blackness.

"Sshh," he snapped, grabbing her arm and pulling her next to him as the sounds of approaching footsteps suddenly became louder outside the door. He didn't know why, but Logan had a bad feeling that things were about to change for the worse for them and their little hostage party was about to come to an abrupt halt.

Rogue immediately fell silent, her eyes widening in fear as she pressed her trembling body tight against Logan's protective bulk. His arm instinctively surrounded her, pulling her close in to him, her long silken hair now riddled with knots brushing softly over the bare skin of his chest as they waited.

Only moments later the large wooden door swung open slamming hard back against the wall and filling the once dark empty room with an abundance of artificial light from out in the hall. Logan and Rogue's eyes squinted shut at the sudden intrusion on their highly dilated pupils, struggling to help them adjust. Logan tugged at her shoulder encouraging her to follow his lead in backing slowly against the stone wall and as far away from the trio that had just walked in, as possible.

Only the darkened silhouettes of Magneto, Mystique and John could be seen as the three strode in, confidence radiating from all to match the smug looks of satisfaction painted on their lips.

"Good morning," Magneto's voice boomed throughout the room. His ensemble of black boots covering all the way up to his knees, black trousers, black shirt tightly buttoned up to the collar and finally a pair of black leather gloves, we're quite the contrary to his silvery hair that reflected the light streaming in from out in the hall.

"John!" Rogue gasped at the sight of her old friend allied with the X-Men's arch enemy.

"Don't call me that!" John spat, firing his hand up in the direction of the smoldering torch near the door, instantly igniting it into a brilliant burst of red and orange flames that nearly touched the ceiling. "My _name_ is Pyro!"

Rogue jumped back, surprised by the anger in his voice and her grip on Logan's arm tightened until her nails nearly drew blood. It'd been five years since she'd seen him, the professor had told her that he'd joined forces with Magneto and that she shouldn't get her hopes up about ever seeing him again. But somehow she'd always held out hope that one day they'd be reunited and maybe, just maybe, things weren't as bad as everyone thought and John would come back to fight for their cause. But now, she knew Professor X had been right. The feral scowl on John's lips wasn't something he'd come by overnight, it was something that had been festering for years, something he'd allowed to take over and she feared, something that would never be reversed.

"Ah yes," Magneto smirked, "I'd forgotten you already know my young apprentice." He paused, striding confidently over towards his hostages, "well then," he grinned, "at least we're not strangers."

Magneto stretched out his arm, cupping his gloved hand under Rogue's chin.

"Keep your fuckin' hands off her bub!" Logan snarled, his eyebrows furrowing with his rising anger as one fist projected three gleaming adamantium blades in Magneto's general direction as a warning. His other hand pushed Rogue behind him and out of the old mans reach.

But Magneto paid him no mind, simply snapped his fingers and said, "Mystique!" His voice harsh and sharp, but she immediately obeyed, her slender blue body gliding across the room where she reached out wrapping a small green woolen blanket around Rogue's shoulders, the grabbed the young girl from Logan's protective hold.

Logan's other hand quickly grabbed Rogue's arm pushing her back against the wall, then instantly sprung his remaining claws free ready to take on the beautiful metamorph and prepared to win at any cost.

"Let's go bitch!" He growled as she approached, but unfortunately he wouldn't have the chance to unleash some of his pent up anger and frustration the way he would've liked. Before he knew what was happening, his entire body stiffened, the muscles of his chest rippling and flexing in pain, the claws on both hands being spread torturously far apart by an invisible field of magnetism, causing Logan to roar out in agony until he was once more thrown clear across the room and pinned against the wall unable to move and barely able to speak.

"Logan!" Rogue shrieked, leaping forward to try and help him.

"How many times must we do this?" Magneto sighed, his hand outstretched, holding Logan firmly against the wall with his power as he signaled Mystique to grab the girl and keep her restrained.

Logan struggled to escape the invisible bonds that held him pinned, but it proved a fruitless effort.

"_You_ just stay put!" Magneto spat again, "Pyro," he nodded towards his young friend and before Logan knew what was happening, Pyro's lighter flicked open. The tiny orange flame that flickered at its tip quickly grew, rolling over on itself, flames crashing into flames and hovering above the small silver lighter until it was a ball of fire the size of a beach ball. Then without a word Pyro's hand struck out in front of him, hurling the giant fire orb toward Logan's helpless body where it came to an abrupt halt only a few feet in front of him. It hovered in the air for a moment, glowing with bright oranges, reds and yellows that burned at Logan's eyes, then finally settled, forming a cage of fire all around him. Even if he could somehow manage to escape the magnetic fields binding him, he'd have to leap a seven foot wall of flames to reach Rogue in time.

"Kid?" He called out, struggling to make out her figure beyond the blazing wall of bright orange and red. But it was too late, as he called out her name he only heard her muffled cries for help followed by the slamming of the large wooden door and once again the room was quiet.

Logan's bulky frame was dropped with a thud to the floor and moments later the cage of fire dissipated, leaving him alone in the large, dark empty room, that now only glowed slightly with the flickering flame of the torch. A defeated sigh escaped his lips and his head dropped into his palms.

What was he going to do now?

"Let go of me you son of a bitch!" Rogue screamed as Magneto dragged her down the long corridors of what appeared to be an underground base. The tall sandstone walls of the prison she'd been in for the past day, stretched out into the hall where they now walked, and towered a good twelve to fourteen feet over her head. Had she not been held there against her will, it actually might have been a nice place to visit and sight see, but under the circumstances she was in no mood to gawk at the scenery. Instead she continued to writhe around, kicking and fighting the man every step of the way in hopes of breaking free.

But instead of getting away, she only succeeded in infuriating him, "Mystique!" He hissed, "take care of _this_!"

The group stopped for a moment in the middle of the long hall which was only lit by several torches similar to the one in the dungeon and Mystique stepped up in front of Rogue, her lips formed into a perfect smirk showing her enjoyment of this whole situation.

Rogue scowled across at her, her arms still tightly bound by Magneto's grip and her body loosely covered by the small blanket still draped over her shoulders, "fuck you!" She growled as she spat in Mystique's face.

The blue metamorph seemed unfazed by the gesture, she simply brushed her finger across her cheek, wiping away the clear gooey mess, and swirled it between her thumb and forefinger as though it were something to be examined carefully. Then with a final evil grin at the young girl, her blue scales began to flip, and her petite curvaceous frame disappeared only to be replaced by the worst thing Rogue could possibly imagine – Logan.

His tall muscular body towered over her, his lips painted with a trademark Logan smirk and his eyebrow raised looking down at her.

"You bitch," Rogue growled, her eyes becoming mere slits at the thought of _her_ Logan being somehow contaminated by this… this… thing!

"Come on darlin'," the fake Logan smiled down at her, taking her from Magneto's strong hold and again began leading her down the hall.

"Don't call me that bitch!" Rogue spat angrily, "you may look like him, but _you_ could never even _hope_ to be that good." Without even thinking her hand flew up to slap the phony Logan hard across the cheek, landing with a loud "SMACK!" on the soft flesh.

Mystique's cocky smirk instantly vanished, quickly being replaced by a vicious scowl as her skin deep Logan shell began to turn, revealing the much more intimidating persona of Sabretooth.

"I think I'd like to hear you scream," Sabretooth growled, his voice so low and rumbling that Rogue could almost feel it resonating in the pit of her stomach. His large clawed fingers clamped around her chin, their sharp edges scraping along her jaw line and down her throat until his large paw-like hand was squeezed around her neck. "Scream for me," he growled, his black eyes flashing wildly at her in the torch light.

Rogue scowled up at the false Sabretooth towering over her, but as she was about to retort an equally snide remark, Magneto interrupted.

"Enough!" His voice crackled through the room, echoing down the long empty corridor, "Mystique, that's enough! Take her to the machine."

Sabretooth's eyes darted away from Rogue to finally settle on Magneto, his lip curled up into a snarl, but he quickly obliged, turning and dragging Rogue further into the belly of the hidden base.

* * *

"Storm, Cyclops are you there? Come in please," the professor's voice sharply broke the silence that had filled the jet ever since the trio of mutants had gotten up that morning.

"Yes professor we're here," Storm replied, hurrying up to the front of the jet to take her usual seat.

"Status report," his voice crackled through the speaker, "have you found Logan and Rogue yet?"

"No professor, no sign of either of them."

"Storm listen to me," Professor Xavier's voice suddenly sounded clearer on the line and it was stern and filled with urgency, "you must find them, and soon. I fear we may already be too late," his words trailed off and Scott immediately jumped up from where he'd been sitting in the back to join his white haired colleague in the front seat.

"What is it professor?" He asked, his words filled with desperation, "what do you know?"

There was only silence on the line for a moment, leaving the three in the jet feeling at little like a bunch of lost puppies not knowing where to turn next. But finally he spoke again, "nothing Scott, nothing more than when we spoke last, but I haven't been able to get another lock on John, so I fear that Magneto is well aware of our presence there. He won't make it easy for you to find him, and if he has Logan and Rogue I suspect he won't hesitate to use them against us."

"But Professor," Scott began to argue, wondering what he'd meant by that comment, but he was quickly cut off before he had a chance to finish.

"Just find them Scott, and find them soon, or I don't only fear for their safety but for all of ours as well." There was a brief pause and then he finished, "keep me informed of your status, I'll be in touch." There was a click and the professor was gone.

"Damn it!" Scott shouted, his mouth turning down into a frown as his fists slammed down on the controls in front of him.

"Scott!" Strom quickly snapped, "this is no time to fall apart, we need to stick together on this, now come on it's getting late, we need to make use of the daylight." She stood from her seat, her black leather uniform creaking with each slight movement and her long silver cape flowing out behind her as she exited the jet with Kurt quietly in tow.

* * *

They'd brought her into a large sphere shaped room not unlike Cerebro, again the ceilings towered high above her, nearly a hundred feet in the air they rose, seeming to stare down over her like some sort of monster. The entire space appeared to be covered with some sort of metal sheeting, none of the rock walls or ceiling visible like it had been throughout the corridors. Magneto obviously had something big planned for this room because compared to all the others she'd seen so far, this one had obviously been worked on extensively.

The metal walls gleamed, reflecting the artificial fluorescent lighting that filled the room, it was much brighter in here than anywhere else she'd seen, reminding her of a hospital or some sort of laboratory. Rogues eyes squinted tightly against the sudden intrusion on her pupils that had been so largely dilated for that past day. Once they had time to adjust she was able to get a better look around the enormous room. Aside from the glistening metal walls and ceiling, the focal point appeared to be the apparatus in the very centre.

Though she had no idea what it was, or what it did, for some reason Rogue's stomach did a flip inside her at just the sight of it. It almost reminded her of the machine Magneto had built once before back on Liberty Island, when he'd attempted to mutate the world leaders in New York. But it definitely wasn't the same machine, she could tell that at first glance. This one was considerably larger than the last, its peak towering at least fifty feet in the air and it spread out almost the entire width of the room. Its outer shell looked to be made completely of steel, which wasn't surprising considering the creator, and situated directly in the centre were two small chairs that faced one another, they almost looked like the pilot seats in the X-jet, only these ones looked much more intimidating.

Their glimmering chrome seats curved up into the hard metal backrest and did not convey comfort at first glance, in fact they more resembled some sort of torture device, than a Lazy-Boy recliner. The arm rests jutted out from the sides and were tipped with two perfectly round clamps which she assumed were restraints for whoever was unlucky enough to sit in said chair. Down toward the platform at the base of the seats were two matching clamps obviously for the persons ankles.

To the sides of this metallic monstrosity were several smaller stations sitting in an orbit style fashion around the larger one. Long metal cables that attached near the backs of the small stations were strung up in midair, fed directly into the first chair, then ran back out to attach into the second across from it. Each of the smaller orbits also contained metallic seats identical to the ones in the larger unit.

The entire thing was so overwhelming Rogue couldn't help but gape a little when they'd brought her in. But her amazement didn't last long when Mystique, still disguised as Sabretooth, began dragging her across the rocky floor, her bare feet scraping uncomfortably over its rough texture. They finally stopped near the far wall, opposite where they'd come in and Sabretooth quickly released his grip on her dropping her tiny frame to the floor and leaving the small blanket in a puddle around her. Stunned for only a moment, Rogue quickly jumped up and took a step to sprint out of the room, her mind flashing with images of all the corridors they'd traveled on their way in so she could hopefully retrace her steps if she actually managed to escape.

But it was a false hope, before she even got two steps away from Mystique, who was now back in her normal blue form, she spotted a glint of something flying towards her. She hesitated for only a moment, but that was all Magneto needed to catch her. The reflective metal shackles continued to fly towards her at lightning speed finally clamping hard around her tiny wrists. Rogue yelped at the sudden clank of metal binding her hands, but she didn't have time to say or do anything else because Magneto's hands flew straight up in the air above his head and Rogue followed. She was powerless to stop herself from rocketing toward the ceiling, being dragged behind her bound hands by the invisible force of Magneto's power.

The air rushed past her as she soared upward, finally coming to an abrupt halt in midair where he left her dangling for several moments. Rogue looked down, surprised to see her half naked body still only covered with her dirty jeans and a filthy white bra, now hanging close to a hundred feet in the air, appearing to be held by nothing, though she knew the metal shackles around her wrists were the only thing keeping her from plummeting to her death.

"You son of a…!" She began to shout, but Magneto had no interest in hearing her yell obscenities at him, so his hand quickly dropped to his side and Rogue's helpless body mirrored the motion, free falling at an alarming rate back towards the floor. But just before she slammed hard into the ground Magneto reached out stopping her once again in midair.

"Now," he began, his features void of any compassion or humor as he stared as the girl hanging powerless in front of him, "are we finished with the name calling?"

Rogue only nodded, her stomach in knots from the insane ride she'd just been on making her unable to form any real words other than, "bu… huu… uba… bla…" her eyes rolled back into her head as she let her chin fall to her chest in defeat.

"Good," Magneto drawled, "then we can proceed."

He threw his hand out to the side, his power dragging Rogue's limp body just above the floor and across the room where he clamped her hands tightly to the wall so he was sure she wouldn't be able to escape should she decide to try again.

"Pyro," the old man snapped and the young boy immediately turned to see what was required of him, "power!"

Without hesitation John strode confidently across the room, past where Rogue hung, until he reached the large control box that stood at the base of the machine in the centre of the room. The control panel sprang to life at the press of a button and instantly the machine was covered with flashing lights and began whirring loudly with the sounds of pure electricity flowing through.

The walls moaned under the stress as the entire place shuddered with electrical energy. Rogue lifted her head slowly to see what was happening and the vibrations from the walls sent tremors through her limp body nearly making her sick to her stomach.

At the top of the machine she could see electrical currents shooting with loud crackles up towards the ceiling, reminding her of something she'd once seen in an old Frankenstein movie.

"Bring them in!" Magneto shouted and within moments several small doors around the large room opened to reveal cages hiding behind them.

Several of Magneto's henchmen began pushing the cages out into the room where Rogue was finally able to get a better look at what was inside.

In the first cage was a small boy, no older than ten or twelve and only dressed in some torn pajamas, his blonde hair disheveled and his eyes wide with fear. She didn't recognize him but she could tell he was as scared and confused as she was, if his sobs echoing from inside were anything to go by.

Mystique stepped carefully across the room until she was positioned just in front of the young boys' prison, she shoved the man who had brought the cage in, out of her way and unlatched the door. Roughly hauling the kid out, she threw him into the nearest orbiting station and clamped his wrists and ankles in tightly.

The second cage was further away, making it difficult for Rogue to see what, or who it contained. But as she squinted to try and get a better look Mystique helped her out by rolling the small cage around to her side of the machine and she was finally able to catch a glimpse.

"Rogue!" A terrified and all too familiar female voice echoed throughout the room.

"Oh my god, Jubilee?" Her voice crackled back, unable to believe what her eyes were seeing.

"Rogue what's going on!"

She couldn't believe it, it was in fact, her friend in that cage, her usually perfectly silken hair was tattered in knots and it even looked as though they'd cut some of it off, leaving it ragged and worn looking. She was dressed only in her bright yellow pajamas that Rogue recognized all to well, but now they were shabby and ripped and filthy with sand and dirt.

"I dunno Jubes," she called back trying to sound reassuring, "but don't worry ok."

"Oh yeah," her friend replied in typical Jubilee sarcasm, "why would I be worried?"

Rogue couldn't help a small smirk, leave it to Jubilee to keep her snide personality traits in tact even at the worst of times, "Jubes, how did you get here?"

"I dunno," she hollered back as Mystique unlatched her cage, hauling her out and clamping her into another of the orbiting stations, "I just got out of bed to get a glass of water and the next thing I knew I woke up here."

"Shut up!" Mystique finally growled as she locked the final clamp on the young girls' ankle and took a swing, her blue hand landing squarely on Jubilees temple and knocking her out cold.

"No!" Rogue shrieked, struggling to free herself from the shackles.

"That's enough!" Magneto finally hissed, raising his hand and levitating a long band of metal towards Rogue where it eventually wrapped around her head to keep her mouth shut.

Finally the third of the three cages was rolled further into the room only this one was covered in black fabric making it impossible for Rogue to see who was inside. The dark cloth waved and flipped around wildly as a result of the struggle being put up by whoever or whatever was caged beneath it, but despite that, it was still hopeless to see anything. The only thing she could tell was that it didn't sound human, at least not right now. She could hear what sounded like claws scraping on metal coming from in the cage and her skin crawled at the sound, reminding her of someone scratching nails on a chalkboard.

"Leave it covered," Magneto snapped as Mystique motioned to remove the long black cloth, "hook the machine up to the cage on that one." The metamorph only nodded and complied.

Several minutes later Magneto spoke again and it appeared that Rogue was about to get a first hand look at whatever it was that this metal monster did, "Mystique, John, its time."

His voice came short and flat as he motioned for the two assistants to prepare, but nothing could have prepared Rogue for what they did next.

She watched silently, still hanging from the wall, as the slender blue metamorph and her once good friend strode across the room to take their seats in two of the orbiting metal chairs. They clamped themselves into the leg restraints and one of the wrist clamps before Magneto came around to secure the final locks on them. The three exchanged smug glances, obviously amused at the stunned look on Rogue's face.

"Oh don't worry my dear," Magneto drawled, as he approached her, motioning with his hands for the shackles to release from the wall and dragging her body across the room toward him, "we wouldn't dream of leaving _you_ out of the fun."

"What do you want with us?" She growled, now only mere inches away from the old man.

He smirked at her in amusement, "it's simple my dear, I want power."

And with that word he strode over to the machine dragging Rogue behind him, helpless to fight against his invisible power.

She was forced into the cold metal chair at the centre of the large metal monster, where his gloved hands worked quickly to secure her in place, locking all her bonds tightly.

"I'm sorry my dear," his voice low and condescending, "but this may hurt a little."

As the last syllable left the old mans lips, his face turned down into a scowl, as if preparing himself for intense pain. He tore his black leather gloves off, letting them fall to the floor and placed both bare hands directly on Rogue's cheeks, bracing himself for the drain of power that was about to take place.

But nothing happened.

Magneto adjusted his hands, trying a different spot on the girls neck and making sure as much of his skin as possible was contacting hers.

Again nothing.

"Aarrgghh!" He growled in anger releasing his grip and shoving her head back hard against the backrest.

Rogue only smirked up at him, her eyes filled with fire and a smug satisfaction that the old man had no idea she'd learned to control her mutation. He could no longer _force_ her to use it.

"Mystique!" He shouted angrily, "why isn't this working?"

But the metamorph didn't have time to answer, Rogue grinned evilly up at her captor and replied, "sorry bub," the use of Logan's favorite term making her literally glow inside, "control."

She raised an eyebrow at him and wiggled her fingers from where her hands were pinned, "you can't _force_ me to do anything anymore."

Magneto only smirked back at her, unimpressed by her attitude but not worried in the least. He'd worked with enough mutants in his time to know _exactly_ how to deal with this little setback.

"Is that what you think?" He remarked gruffly as his hand raised high in the air only to fly back towards her, striking her head back against the metal headrest with a resounding blow, knocking her unconscious.

"Now then, let's try this again."

The old man again placed his withered hands on Rogue's cheeks, her head lying limp back against the chair, no fight left to give. And only moments later he began to feel it. The veins in his face becoming more and more pronounced with every passing second, the breath being sucked out of him and his power diminishing rapidly.

He held onto her for as long as he could stand, until finally his legs gave out from under him and his tired old frame collapsed in the chair opposite her. Struggling to fasten his leg irons in his weakened state, he finally rose up to lean back against the backrest and in one final effort, Magneto raised his hand using his last drop of mutation to flip on the switch on the control panel across the room.

The humming of the large machine increased ten fold and the vibrations that resulted were so intense that the floor shuddered all the way back to where Logan sat alone in the dungeon.

"What the fuck?" Logan growled as the room shook. He jumped up from where he'd been sitting on the floor eating a few scraps of the food one of Magneto's henchmen had brought in shortly after Rogue had been taken. He'd been reluctant to eat it, not knowing if maybe it were poisoned, but after giving it a thorough once over with his sensitive nose had decided that it seemed safe enough. He was beginning to feel like his stomach was starting to eat him alive, so all thoughts of not eating were quickly dismissed and he'd inhaled his share making sure to leave more than half for Rogue, if and when she was returned to him.

But now he could only watch as the metal platter of food scraps vibrated across the floor beneath him, the small rocks and sand appearing to jump up and down all on their own as the room shuddered and rumbled. Nearly losing his balance from the sudden disruption, Logan fell back, leaning his weight against the cool stone wall for support. Rogue had been gone for several hours and he'd been worried sick about her the entire time, but this new revelation was enough to nearly make him physically ill, something told him that whatever was going on now had to do with her, and he knew it wasn't good.

**Hope you loved it as much as I loved writing it! Chapter 12 will be up very soon! Please remember to R&R, You're my lifeline! Thanks :o)**


	12. Rogue's Power

**A/N: **Hey everybody! I'm so so so sorry for the long delay in getting this chapter up! I usually try to update at least once a week, but I've been sick with Laryngitis for the past 2 weeks and then I pulled a muscle in my shoulder! Needless to say I've been feeling like absolute crap and haven't had much inspiration for writing. The only thing getting my time is sleep these days! So again, my apologies, I sure hope there are some people who are still willing to read despite my tardiness.

So thanks to all who are still enjoying this saga! And again thanks to all of you who have reviewed! You seriously make my day! So I hope you keep reading and enjoying and reviewing!

**Rating:** PG-13 (for some coarse language)

**Disclaimer:** Yeah right! As if I own anything, whatever! X-Men aren't mine, Rogue and Wolverine aren't mine, nothing is mine, just this piece of crap computer I'm typing on and that's about it.

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 12: Rogue's Power**

The violent shuddering throughout the room had only increased over the minutes that passed. The entire place vibrated and shook with an intensity that was beginning to make its inhabitants nauseous.

"I..I..I..t..hin..k…I'mmmm… gonna…thr…ow…uppp…." Jubilees voice trembled as her shiny steel chair rattled violently, her vision blurring with each passing moment and her mind clouding over until she could barely think straight. Her head fell back hard against the back rest of the cold metal chair, landing with a 'thud' that no one could hear over the intense whirring of the machine. She let her eyes drift up toward the ceiling, just trying to keep her thoughts straight and using all her will power not to vomit, keeping her gaze fixated on one spot.

It was helping a little, helping her to focus her energy and her mind and making the sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach begin to go away and slowly suppressing the tiny shocks of electricity that were sporadically escaping her finger tips. But it wouldn't last long. Before she knew what was happening, she felt a pull, an all too familiar pull, sucking at her, almost tearing at her insides, yanking her control and tearing her powers forcefully from her tiny body. The fireworks from her fingers quickly dissipated, leaving only the slender fingers of a 'normal' teenage girl. She gasped for air, feeling as though she almost couldn't breathe, her eyes widened and she looked down at the exposed skin on her arms where the blue veins were becoming more and more pronounced with each passing second.

She tried to scream but nothing came out, so she fought to escape the bonds that held her tightly in place, her delicate skin rubbing itself raw against the harsh metal shackles, but it was no use, the steel bands were much too strong for her and with each moment she could feel her strength dissipating. Her tiny body was becoming weaker with each moment.

She looked around frantically, searching for someone or something that might help her, but all she found were the equally frightened faces of Pyro, Mystique and the young boy who'd been brought in before her. Each strapped into their own orbiting metal chair and each looking as though the very life was being sucked right out of them. The veins in their faces all much more pronounced now, all except for Mystique of course, who's skins natural blue color hid what was undoubtedly there. But although she didn't exhibit the same symptoms as the rest of them, it was obvious to Jubilee that she was in just as much agony as she was.

Obviously distracted by pain, she appeared unable to control her mutation, her form sporadically changing from that of the usual blue skinned woman and morphing into many others. First Wolverine, then Senator Kelly, Sabretooth, Toad, several other people Jubilee didn't recognize and finally when it appeared she had nothing left to give, back to her normal blue self.

The struggle being put up by whatever was under the black cloth in the third cage seemed short lived as well. Just as she was no longer able to fight the pull of this metal monster, it seemed that whoever was being held captive in that final cage wasn't impervious to the machines power either and as Jubilee felt her own strength diminishing, the struggle beneath the black cloth was also wearing out.

After several minutes Jubilee felt as though she wouldn't be able to battle a fly, had one landed on her at that moment. Her eyes felt heavy, it was an effort just to hold them open and try to look around to see what was happening, but she forced herself to, she needed to know what was being done to them.

Across the room, at the centre of the great machine, she could see Rogue, strapped in just as she was, her head lying limp back against the headrest, eyes closed and her long dark hair tangled in knots hanging down around her shoulders. Her body shook violently at the vibrations of the enormous machine, but it also looked as though her tremors were being caused by something else as well. Jubilee forced her head up, nearly unable to perform such a simple task in her weakened state, but needing to know if her friend was alright.

Electricity snapped and crackled throughout the room, the loud buzzing nearly giving her a headache, the majority of the electrical shocks seemed to be released out the top of the giant metal monster, zapping erratically in long slender bolts of white and silver up towards the ceiling. But now that she had turned her attention to Rogue, Jubilee could see that much of the energy seemed to be flowing through the cables that were strung high across the room and finally into the seat where her friend was shackled. That chair seemed to vibrate the most violently and she realized it was because the energy coming from all the orbiting stations, hers included, seemed to be flooding directly into Rogue.

That must be why she felt so weak, Rogue was stealing her powers, and by the looks of it, everyone else's in the room as well. Magneto had somehow managed to make a machine that was channeling other mutants' powers into Rogue, her own mutation giving her the ability to accept them.

But why?

Her mind was growing foggy again, the images around the room becoming blurred, an incomprehensible montage of blacks and whites, lights and darks, but nothing discernable. She struggled to get a look at the old man seated across from her friend, wondering what all this had to do with him. Why would he want Rogue to take all their powers? She'd be one of the most powerful mutants in the entire world, how could that help him? She'd never agree to join Magneto's Brotherhood, not by choice anyway. It didn't make any sense, in fact nothing was making any sense, god her head hurt. She let it slump forward to her chest, unable to hold it up any longer under her own power.

She couldn't think – where was she again? – How did she get here? – God she felt tired – just needed to rest for a minute – Just for a minute.

Just before the room went black, Jubilee managed to turn her head just enough to get a look at the old man seated across from Rogue, it appeared as though his machine was taking its toll on him as well. As his body seemed to vibrate just as violently as all of theirs and judging by the look of anguish in his features, he was in as much pain as she was.

But she couldn't look anymore, her head felt heavy – weak – powerless – drained. She fought to keep her eyes open, determined to stay awake, but it was no use. The room suddenly went black and she slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

The seconds since she'd been taken had stretched into minutes, the minutes into hours and now the hours had slipped into an entire day of loneliness. Logan sat alone in his cell, his heavy adamantium skeleton weighing him down, somehow feeling more of a hindrance today than usual and making the floor seem extra hard now. He'd been sitting there for so long and was beginning to wonder if his ass had become one with the hard earth beneath him. Shifting uncomfortably, he finally gave up and began pacing the dark room, once again looking for an escape, though he knew there wasn't one. He'd been around that room hundreds of times already, inspecting every crack in the wall, every hole in the stone, and every misshapen rock, hoping against hope that there was some way out, some escape for him and his young friend.

He let his hands trail along the roughness of the stone wall, his fingers tucking into each nook and cranny as he scanned it carefully for a way out. After several moments a 'SNIKT' was heard, echoing throughout the large empty space, and six adamantium blades were projected out, tearing the skin at his knuckles. The sounds of fingernails scraping along a chalkboard were heard throughout as the slender metal shards were dragged mercilessly along the rock.

Logan's skin crawled at the sound but he forced himself to endure it anyway, who knew what tortures Rogue was suffering at that very moment and the fact that he was just sitting there, doing nothing, not helping her, or rescuing her or anything useful at all, was killing him. He needed to be punished and at that moment, enduring the screeching of metal on stone was the only thing he could think to do, though his insides were screaming for him to stop the incessant racket.

But suddenly there was a shuffle behind the door.

His claws instantly retracted behind their human shell, the torn skin repairing the damage within moments so that not even a scar was visible. He rubbed his fingers mindlessly at the empty spaces between his knuckles, it didn't hurt anymore, the skin was healed, but he instinctively rubbed and scratched at the space as though it were an itchy scab just waiting to be picked.

Stalking closer to the door, Logan prepared to pounce on whoever dared to come through. If it was Magneto, all the better, he'd kill him in an instant, escape this dark prison, rescue the girl, skewer anyone who got in his way and find a way out of this godforsaken place. It wasn't much of a plan but it was all he had, so it would have to do for now.

He pressed his back tightly against the wall near the door, ready to attack the moment it opened. The room barely glowed with the tiny flicker that remained in the torch, but his eyes had had plenty of time to adjust so he could see perfectly. But knowing the room was about to be flooded with the light from the hall, he prepared himself for the sudden intrusion on his pupils.

Just then the door flew open; Logan didn't even take the time to look and see who was there, his senses told him it wasn't Rogue, he couldn't smell her, and anyone else he was prepared to kill so the moment the light peeked into the room he launched himself into the air. Leaping toward the now open door, his eyes adjusting to the new light and his claws springing free, ready to slice through anything in his path, but before he managed to cut or kill anyone, his body froze in mid-air. Completely still, unable to move a muscle or a claw, he was frozen in time, hovering several feet off the ground in attack position.

His eyes flashed with anger, knowing full well who and what was behind his sudden immobilization.

"Will you never learn?" Magneto scoffed, striding confidently into the room, only taking a moment to glance at the Wolverine frozen before him.

Logan let out a low growl from deep within, the only threat he could still manage at the moment.

"Come here!" The old man snapped, making his way further into the room and directing with only a simple motion of his hand for Logan's helpless body to follow him.

When they reached the opposite end of the room, where it was nearly encased in blackness away from the torch, Magneto dropped his hand, letting Logan fall with a thud to the floor.

"Stay!" He snapped, shooting an angry glare at the man beneath him, then quickly turned his attention to the still open door where Logan caught a glimmer of something shiny gliding through the air toward him.

'_What the fuck is that?' _he wondered silently, still crouched and frozen on the dirt floor unable to fight.

"It's your turn _Wolverine_," Magneto growled, glancing down with a smirk at the man, then back up to the shiny piece of metal still gliding toward them.

After several moments the long slender sheet of metal settled on the floor just inches away from where Logan sat and he was able to get a good look at what it was.

"What the fuck did you do to her?" He growled through clenched teeth.

His eyes flashed wildly at what he saw, filling him with rage and another threatening snarl escaped his lips despite his clamped jaw. He glared up at the old man, letting him know that if he ever managed to escape this prison, he _was_ going to kill him, no ifs, ands or buts about it. Magneto merely glared back at him, uninterested in any threats this _animal_ may have, for he only had one mission at the moment and it needed to be taken care of immediately, time was running out.

"Heal her!" The old man snapped, pointing a finger at his captive and motioning toward the lifeless body that lay on the long metal sheet he had just levitated in.

With that he turned and strode out of the room, but just before passing through the open doorway he turned back and spat, "Now! Before she dies!"

His hand flew up toward the smoldering torch and in seconds it burst into a brilliant orange and yellow flame, illuminating the entire room and leaving Logan in complete shock and amazement. As far as he could remember, Magneto had never had the power to control fire, that had always been Pyro's deal, but he didn't have time to worry about that now so he returned his attention to the problem before him.

The door slammed shut, echoing with a deep, throaty bang throughout the room and once the old man was out of sight Logan felt his body relax and free motion and movement was restored. He hurried to the motionless form that lay on the cold metal sheet before him, his eyes searching for some sign of life.

There she was, the girl he'd come back for, the girl he'd loved from a distance for so long, now only a limp, lifeless form on a thin sheet of metal. Her long dark hair tangled under her, while once brilliant white streaks now soiled with red clay, trickled down over her slender shoulders, which were still exposed, only her dirty white bra covering her now. Her eyes were shut, not contorted or squinted in any way; just lightly resting closed as though she were in a deep sleep, and would wake up at any moment. Her tiny hands rested gently on the flat of her stomach, fingers linked loosely together, ankles exposed out the bottom of her filthy jeans, daintily crossed over one another.

He watched her closely for a moment, waiting for some sign that there was still something to hope for, was she alive? Was it too late? What had Magneto done to her?

His eyes scanned her slender body, no cuts or bruises were evident other than the raw, torn skin at her wrists and ankles where she'd been shackled. Logan pressed his fingers to her wrist, where he only felt the faintest hint of a pulse. His eyes flashed over to her face, her eyes remained closed, there was no sign of recognition there, but she did have a pulse that much was unmistakable.

Gathering her up in his arms, he pressed her body tight against him, "come on kid, don't leave me now."

His bare chest ground into hers, bare skin on bare skin, way to much of her deadly skin exposed to be considered safe, but he didn't care. He needed her to be exposed, needed her to feel him, needed her to absorb him.

"God Marie please," he whispered again, his words muffled by the closeness of his mouth to her neck. His hands reached up, cupping the back of her head and pulling her closer to him, "come on baby, com…" Logan's words trailed off into a gasp for air as it finally came.

The pull.

The drain.

The drawing of his powers from deep within him. He could feel her body taking what it needed, healing itself, repairing the damage of whatever Magneto had done to her, while at the same time, tearing everything from him, his mutant power, his life force, his energy, his thoughts, his memories. His breaths were coming shorter now, small gasps for air only, and the veins in his face and arms were much more pronounced that before, dark blue lines protruding out from behind their fleshy home.

His fingers tightened in her hair, nearly yanking out several chunks as his body began to convulse in pain, thrusting hard against her tiny frame pressing against him.

Finally she gasped.

Her lungs filling with air, body feeling warmer, pulse quickening.

Rogue's eyes flew open, where was she? What was…?

'_Oh god, Logan?' _

She looked around bleary eyed, he was pressed tight against her and she could feel his heartbeat resonating inside her own body.

"Logan no!" She gasped, desperately trying to push him off of her, away from her deadly skin. But he refused to let go, his eyes had rolled back in his head and he appeared barely conscious, but still kept holding on, pulling her tighter to him, his arms desperate to hold her close and his strength far too great for her to move him.

She had to turn it off.

She had to turn it off now.

'_Come on Rogue, pull it together,'_ she silently repeated to herself, trying desperately to collect her mind and get her mutation under control. The confusion and disorientation, combined with the mish mash of thoughts running through her was so overwhelming she could barely think straight, let alone focus.

_Images of black and green light filled her mind. _

_Men in masks that she'd seen too many times before. _

_Water – drowning in a glass coffin._

_Scott. _

_Jean. _

_Storm and Kurt. _

_The Professor. _

_Her and Logan. _

_Her and Logan sitting on his bed talking, him with a beer in his hand and her cross legged at the foot of the bed, a sheepish smile on her lips and a casual smirk on his._

"_I kept it." She whispered._

"_It's a beer kid." He replies, stifling a chuckle._

"_I know, but it was your beer, and your shirt." She tugs at the flannel shirt loosely covering her body._

"_I'm sorry kid, I never meant for it to turn out this way."_

"_I know"_

_The look on Logan's face seemed to change after that, he seemed to look at her differently. _

_Almost lovingly. _

_Or could it be… _

_Lustily?_

What was she seeing here? These weren't her dreams…

Were they Logan's?

Rogue shook her head, there were too many thoughts clouding her mind, she couldn't focus, it was all too confusing, too much to take in. She had to clear her mind of everything, all his thoughts, his feelings, his dreams and nightmares, everything.

A deep breath in.

And finally, after several moments, she managed to do it. Clearing her mind of everything, she focused completely on her mutation, channeling all her energy into her control, focusing it all into one power, the only power, the power of control.

And the pull slowly subsided, silently fading away, leaving no trace of it behind other than a scarred couple, wrapped in each others arms as though their lives depended on it, in a dark, cold and lonely room in the middle of a desert.

**Hope you enjoyed! Please remember to review:o) **

**I promise the wait for Chapter 13 won't be so long as it was for Chapter 12!**


	13. Behind Those Eyes

**A/N: Hey everybody! I'm so so so sorry for the long delay in getting this chapter up! I usually try to update at least once a week, but I've STILL been sick, my Laryngitis turned into Bronchitis and I also got a lung infection! Needless to say I've been feeling like absolute crap and haven't had much inspiration for writing. The only thing getting my time is sleep these days! So again, my apologies, I sure hope there are some people who are still willing to read despite my tardiness.**

**So thanks to all who are still enjoying this saga! And again thanks to all of you who have reviewed! You seriously make my day! So I hope you keep reading and enjoying and reviewing!**

**Rating: PG-13**

**Disclaimer: Yeah right! As if I own anything, whatever! X-Men aren't mine, Rogue and Wolverine aren't mine, nothing is mine, just this piece of crap computer I'm typing on and that's about it.**

**Also, apologies in advance for my poor take on Kurt's accent. I'm trying my best, but y'know... it's tough, so please be kind!**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 13: Behind Those Eyes**

"Logan?" Rogue's voice cut through the silence in their large empty prison like a knife. It had been deathly quiet all night long, ever since she'd found herself wrapped in Logan's tight embrace, his healing powers filling her to the hilt, while his memories and dreams flooded through her like nothing she'd ever experienced before. When she'd finally managed to repress her mutation and stopped the deadly pull on his power, she'd been so weak and exhausted from the days events and lack of food, that she simply collapsed next to him on the cold sandy floor.

Though she was half asleep, her mind raced as it struggled to make out the images and feelings swarming through her. Was _'she'_ even in there anymore? There was so much of Logan in her head it was too overwhelming, almost as though he'd taken over her mind leaving almost no trace of the young woman portrayed on the exterior.

It was so strange, he'd touched her several times before and she'd absorbed his thoughts and memories, even the nightmares, which she'd been living in torment from ever since. But the past two times hadn't been anything like this. This time something was different. Something about her was different. Something about Logan was different.

What was it?

The usual things were still there, the men in masks, the glass tank filled with water, the green and black light all around, Stryker's face, the fight with Sabretooth on that snowy road in Canada, cage fighting, all the images she was already too familiar with. But now there were new things, things she'd never seen before. A fight with some woman, she was tall and slender, long black hair pulled back into a low ponytail, she has the strangest eyes, like ice, they almost seem to look right through you.

She keeps cracking her knuckles. _'Gross.'_

It's quite the battle and Rogue wonders if Logan is actually _losing_ this fight.

'_Wait a minute.'_

'_Does she have claws like his?'_

She does. Only they don't come from between her knuckles like Logan's, hers seem to extend right out from her fingernails and they're much longer. She comes flying across the room at him, he seems unprepared for the sudden attack and she catches him off guard, sending him flying into the familiar glass tank of water where they continue to battle.

'_Oh my god.'_ Her claws. Rogue can actually feel them stabbing into her, or him, whatever. They're long and sharp, cutting through the skin like a knife in warm butter. Over and over she stabs him, the long slender shards of metal carving through muscle and tissue, she can hear it tearing and ripping apart the flesh but the sounds are muffled by Logan's howls of anguish as she systematically slices him open.

Suddenly he turns, finally seeming to be the one in control of this battle, he reaches for something she can't quite make out, it's long and its shiny metal surface glimmers in the dull light of the room. He plunges the sharp end of it deep into the woman's body and she clutches her stomach in pain, her body becomes still, panic and fear fill her eyes sending chills down Rogue's spine. Her eyes look strange now, they looked odd before, but now they're different, they look like they're filling with liquid. Wait. They _are_ filling up, and now the grey fluid is spilling down her cheeks, it looks like she's bleeding grey from her eyes.

The visions are so real, so nightmarish; they stick in Rogue's mind like nothing else ever has.

But these horrible images aren't the most prominent part of the Logan that's inside her now. There's something else there now, something new, something she's never sensed in him before. It's softer – more sensitive - loving even. She's been struggling to make sense of what she sees in him. Images of the two of them sitting together in the dark, talking about life and love, pictures of him kissing her, but they're not memories from the intimate moment they shared in this very cell when they first arrived. These images are somewhere else.

The Xavier mansion, she thinks.

But none of these things have actually happened, and as many times as she's dreamt about Logan in a romantic way, she knows that none of these images are hers.

'_Is he in love with me?'_ She wonders silently, then dismisses the silly childhood fantasy with a wave of her hand through the air. _'There must be some other explanation.'_

'_But what?'_

She wonders why this is tormenting her so badly, _'why can't I just let it go?' _

'_I'm in love with Scott now.' _

'_Aren't I?'_

'_I'm happy with Scott.'_

'_Right?'_

Finally her eyes begin to grow heavy, she can't think about this any longer, her mind turns black as she drifts off into a dreamless sleep, exhausted and wrapped snugly in Logan's strong arms.

* * *

Now, hours later, the room is silent, Rogue awoke to only the sound of his heavy breathing, slow and even, she watched him silently for nearly an hour as his chest rose and fell, pressing softly against her cheek where her head had been resting gently on the hard muscles of his stomach. She couldn't bear to wake him, not after what he'd done for her last night, not after saving her life, yet again, and not after she found out through his memories that he hadn't gotten a wink of sleep while she'd been gone. He'd only sat alone in this cold dark cell, waiting for her return and filling his time with a fruitless search for escape.

He'd saved her more than half of the food that had been brought in for them, but the meager helping wasn't even enough to fill up Jubilee on one of her 'diet days', let alone the Wolverine after several days of fasting. His healing factor was obviously helping him deal with his hunger, but none the less she could hear his stomach rumbling and turning about inside him, impatiently waiting for a decent meal, or at least something more substantial.

"Logan?" She nudged him again, not really wanting to wake him when this was the first real sleep he'd gotten in days, but her loneliness was becoming overwhelming and she was getting desperate to hear another human voice.

"Mmm…?" He mumbled incoherently in his sleep, rolling over on his side and pulling her close into him. Her back now pressed tightly into his taut stomach, their legs tangled together in a mess of limbs, and his arms stretched around her shoulders, settling softly in front of her chest where his hands clasped hers, their fingers entwined around one another. She could feel his heart beating, slowly and steadily thumping at her back, his warmth radiating off his perfectly tanned skin into her, and she was glad for it because she'd been freezing ever since they'd arrived.

A small smile crossed her lips, somehow she didn't feel quite so alone now and the need to wake him up just for idle chit chat was completely gone. This was much better. Wrapped in Logan's strong embrace, she snuggled in closer, resting her head on his bicep and tangling her fingers deeper with his. He seemed to feel her comfort and pulled her in tighter, leaving not so much as a molecule of space between them. Somehow, despite their dire circumstances, it just felt right, she couldn't remember the last time she's felt so content. Nuzzling her cheek against his arms she silently drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"How long has she been missing?" Scott's voice was filled with concern and suppressed rage as he spoke. His face contorted into an uncharacteristic scowl that hadn't left his features for days, the stress of this situation was beginning to take its toll on the X-Men's so-called 'fearless leader'. As much as he liked to portray the fearless head of the group, he was still only human and his mind had been consumed with all the 'ifs ands and buts' of this mission for so long now that it was becoming too much for even him to handle.

Storm had all but given up on trying to talk to him, she now only got grunts in response to her queries and if she did manage to get an actual sentence as an answer, it was usually an order barked at her in anger. The Scott she knew didn't seem to live there anymore and she wondered if they would ever get him back, his anger seemed to be overtaking him and he was letting it.

The professor's voice finally crackled back over the COM link, they hadn't been able to get a good clear signal since they'd arrived, "she's been gone since sometime yesterday morning, we're not sure exactly when."

"Are you sure she's missing professor?" Storm asked, eyeing Scott warily when she saw the feral look in his face as she spoke, "are you certain she isn't just off somewhere with friends or something? I mean it wouldn't be the first time Jubilee took off without telling anyone."

"Yes Storm, I'm quite certain. I had thought of that as well, but she disappeared when I was away visiting an old friend and no one, not even Kitty seems to know where she went. When Kitty woke up yesterday morning she said Jubilee was gone. I've already tried using Cerebro to locate her but I can't seem to find her anywhere, which leads me to believe that the only place she _can_ be is with Magneto. Whatever he's using to shield himself from me seems to be impenetrable; I can't get a lock on any of them."

"Damn it!" Scott spat angrily, slamming his fists on the controls of the Blackbird like a child throwing a tantrum in the grocery store.

Storm merely glared over at him, unimpressed with his childish behavior.

"Scott!" Professor X replied calmly but firmly, "you need to stay rational about this, we can't help any of them if we start losing our tempers and panicking now." There was a slight pause before he continued, "Scott would you like me to send someone for you? I'm sure Storm and Kurt can handle this if you'd feel better just coming back to the school? You're no good to us out there if you can't keep it together."

Scott breathed heavily, his earlier breaths more like short pants for air, had now slowed into a calm and collected state when he finally replied, "no professor, my place is here."

"Good," was the broken reply, "I understand this is frustrating for you all, and believe me, I'm doing all I can to help from here. But right now you three are our best chance of finding them, wherever you've looked, look again, and if you think you've exhausted all alleys, go over it all again. They _are_ there, I assure you. And we _will_ find them." There was a brief hesitation, as though the professor was even trying to convince himself that his words were true, "I'll be in touch."

"Ve should go," Kurt ventured, eyeing Scott carefully in hopes that he wouldn't get his head bitten off for speaking out of turn, "the zun iz up, ve should make use of the daylight."

* * *

"Do you _really_ want me to come wedding dress shopping with you?"

Rogue looked up at Logan searching out his eyes in the dimly lit room. She hadn't realized he was awake; they hadn't spoken since she'd been returned to the cell the previous night, so she'd just lain silently in his arms, quietly enjoying the closeness and still trying to sort through everything in her head. The oddity of his sudden comment came as quite a surprise and she struggled unsuccessfully to stifle a giggle.

"Um…" She replied still snickering quietly at the thought of Logan in a wedding store.

"What?" He asked, shifting uncomfortably and obviously not liking the way this conversation was going.

"Sorry, I just… I just never _really_ expected you to seriously consider the idea when I suggested it."

"So you don't want me to come then?"

"No, it's not that, I just…"

"Cause I never said I was gonna, I was just askin' is all."

She paused pondering the thought for a moment, "so what would you do? Like, sift through a sea of white satin, crinoline and chiffon, searching for just the right one, finally emerging triumphantly with a giant bag of snow white fabric held above yer head, an ear to ear grin painted on your lips and an eyebrow cocked in satisfaction?"

She snickered again at the picture forming in her mind. Maybe she could bury him in a pile of wedding dresses while she twirled and posed for him, trying to decide which one to choose. He could give her a 'male perspective' on each dress and… Her thoughts trailed off when Logan interrupted.

"Uh… I hadn't really thought about it like that kid. I was thinkin' more along the lines of me waiting outside enjoying a nice Cuban while you do yer thing inside and showin' me through the window."

She grinned at his obvious discomfort with the topic, "aw, ya mean ya won't come in with me and help me pick one out?"

"I think yer yella friend would be much better at that than I would kid."

"Yeah, I'm sure Jubes would love wedding dress shopping, she'd be in her element fer sure."

He merely smirked at the thought and pulled Rogue closer into his chest, squeezing his arms snugly around her waist. Honestly, he couldn't picture himself wedding dress shopping, he hated shopping, didn't matter what kind of shopping it was. But somehow, the idea of wedding dress shopping with _his _Marie, when she was searching for a dress to wear to her wedding to _someone else_ was just too much to comprehend right now.

He'd helped her pick out outfits before, many times she'd dragged him into some store after they'd been to the movies or something. But that was different, no one was starting a new life with those clothes, no one was moving on and going to have a family of their own with _that_ kind of shopping and most certainly, no one was marrying One Eye and planning to have his children.

'_What would those kids be like anyway?' _

'_Untouchable and unable to see normally?'_

'_Oh yeah, that'd be just perfect!'_

He'd seen what Marie had gone through dealing with her mutation, the fact that she could never touch, never feel another person caressing her soft skin, showing her their affection and love. It had nearly killed her. She'd learned to deal with the seclusion of being the 'untouchable girl' and had been able to make everyone believe that she was 'ok' with it.

But he knew better.

He knew she wasn't truly happy, not really. And he knew she never would be, not as long as she couldn't control her own life, her mutation would always be in command, always dictate what she could or couldn't do. He couldn't even imagine what that would've been like if she'd also had to deal with wearing Scott's ruby quartz lens glasses all the time.

'_Hopefully they won't have kids.'_

'_Or even better, hopefully they won't get married at all.'_

"Deep in thought?" Rogue finally asked when he'd been quiet for so long.

Logan jerked his head to the side to look at her, her words startling him out of his thoughts, "uh… yeah, I guess."

"Whatcha' thinkin' sugar?"

A grunt from him was the only reply.

Rogue shifted herself around, leaning her back uncomfortably against the scratchy surface of the stone wall as she searched out his eyes in the dimly lit room. Her eyes flickered back and forth between his, searching for answers. Something told her he wasn't being straight with her, something was obviously on his mind and she had to wonder if it wasn't the same things that had been on her mind since she'd been returned to the room.

"What?" He snapped, his words coming out much harsher than he intended.

"Nothin', just wonderin' what's on yer mind is all."

He stared back at her, his eyes locked on hers, large brown eyes twinkling in the torch light, their look not unlike that of a deer, doe eyes they were, large and brown and filled with innocence. But there was something behind them. He couldn't pin point what it was exactly, but something was different.

Something had changed between them.

Ever since he'd healed her the night before something was different. He could feel her, feel her inside his head, flooding his thoughts and it was such an odd sensation he couldn't manage to put it into words.

'_Was this what it was like for her when she absorbed parts of him into her mind?' _

'_Had _she_ somehow seeped into _his _mind when they'd touched this time?'_

He couldn't verbalize what he was feeling, but it was unlike anything he'd ever sensed before. Almost like her spirit had leaked into him, he could sense thoughts and feelings, fears and love, things that were all hers, all Marie, it was elating, almost erotic even. Like the most intimate moment that could ever be shared between two people, more intimate than a kiss, a touch, or even sex could ever be.

And now he could see it in her eyes, _behind_ her eyes almost.

'_Was it doubt?'_

'_Not doubt for him - doubt for someone else.'_

'_Scott?'_

Something had changed. There wasn't enough of her in his head for him to make out anything clearly, it was more of a sensation than anything, but it was strong and it gave him hope.

"Logan?" She asked again softly, reaching out to gently caress his hand when he still didn't reply.

"Are you happy Marie?" His eyes remained locked on hers while he awaited her response.

"What? Right now? Here? In this prison cell? Being used like some sort of lab rat?" Her words were laced with sarcasm as she stared back at him. She knew that's not really what he meant, not really what he wanted to know, but somehow the words just seemed to flow out of her mouth all by themselves, she wasn't sure she was ready to answer that question. For when she did, she knew what it would mean.

"You know what I mean kid."

"Of course I'm happy," she forced a smile, pulling her hand away from his and turning slightly so he couldn't see her eyes.

"Look at me," he whispered, reaching out and cupping her chin with his hand to turn her eyes back on him.

"What?"

She was fighting him. He could sense it. She was afraid, afraid to answer truthfully and he knew why.

She was doubting her life outside of this room.

"Look me in the eye and tell me you're happy."

His large hand remained on her chin, his thumb stroking her cheek softly and his eyes locked with hers.

"Why are you asking me this? Why now?"

Logan remained silent for several moments, contemplating his reply until he finally settled on avoidance, for now anyway.

"Last night when I touched you," he paused, letting his hand fall from her cheek only to bring it up to scrub it uncomfortably over his ever lengthening beard, "did everything seem normal?"

"Normal?"

"Yeah, when you absorbed my healing power, was it… was it like before?"

Ok, now this was just plain weird, Rogue had thought that something felt strange when she'd come to last night, that something about their encounter this time was different than the times before. But she'd simply chalked it up to the fact that she was exhausted and that having so many of someone else's emotions inside you was just mentally draining and confusing.

But now, now it seemed as though she wasn't the only one who'd felt the oddity of it all.

Maybe he'd sensed it too.

"Actually no."

His eyes flicked back to hers, searching them for answers, "what was different?"

"I'm not sure, I just… I just know it didn't feel the same," she hesitated trying to gather her thoughts so she could put into words what it had felt like. "It was like… like more of you went into me than before. Like there was so much of you in there that _Rogue_ was lost, like some part of _me_ had slipped away." Her eyes dropped to the floor and a deep sigh escaped in frustration, she didn't know how to explain what had happened, "that probably sounds completely ridiculous I know."

Logan's eyes widened but he said nothing. _'Was it really possible that he had somehow absorbed some of her this time? How could that be?'_

"Logan?" She asked hesitantly, confused by the odd look on his face and his sudden silence, "why? Did you feel something? Was it different for you too?"

He still remained silent, but she could see it in his face, in his eyes, he'd felt something too, something wasn't right about this last encounter and it wasn't just her imagination.

"You felt it too," she whispered, "I can see it in your eyes, what happened to us Logan? What did Magneto do to me?"

Logan's eyes finally rose up to meet hers as he reached out grabbing her arms and pulling her back close to him. Her tiny body rested firmly against his chest and his arms wrapped securely around her, just the feel of her against him was somehow comforting in itself.

"I dunno kid, but I've got you in here now," he tapped his finger to his temple then returned his hand to tangle his fingers with hers, "and I can't presume to tell you why or how."

It was silent for quite a while, the light from the torch growing dimmer with each passing moment, until it was merely a smoldering ember, barley lighting the doorway and leaving the rest of the room in complete blackness. It seemed colder today, their exposed skin covered in permanent goose bumps except for the parts they kept pressed tightly together in an effort to keep warm.

Finally Logan broke the silence, "what did they do to you kid? Where did that bastard take you yesterday?"

"I don't know what he did, there's a room down the hall, a huge room with some kind of machine inside. He's got others held prisoner here too Logan, it's not just us," her voice cracked and broke with emotion as she remembered when Jubilee had been brought into the room in that awful cage. Her fingers tightened around Logan's, the feel of him so close to her, just enough to keep her strong enough to fight back the tears as she went on. "He's keeping them in cages and he's got Jubilee."

"Yella?" Logan asked, his eyes widening.

"You know she hates that," Rogue smiled as his use of the silly nickname."

"I know," he smirked, "what the hell does he want with her?"

Logan listened quietly as she told him about all she'd seen in the underground base, about Magneto's machine and about the other hostages he had, the young boy and whoever was being held in the covered cage. Unfortunately since she'd been unconscious for much of the time her explanation was filled with gaps, leaving the two of them with more questions than answers.

"What mutations do you think this kid has or the person in this cage?" Logan finally asked when Rogue had finished.

"I dunno, I didn't get to talk to them, why?"

"Just thinkin' that maybe one of em's a telepath."

Rogue cocked her head to look up at him behind her, "ya think that's why y'have me in yer head? Y'think I absorbed some of this telepaths ability and somehow transferred my thoughts to you?"

"Dunno," he grunted a reply, "just a thought kid, I really don't know."

**Ok, so I hope you all enjoyed this installment, and I'm going to do my absoloute best to get Chapter 14 up very soon now that I'm feeling better! Oh yeah, and please remember to review! Thanks :o)**


	14. Two Chains

**A/N: Yaay! Can you believe it? I've actually posted 2 (countem' 2!) chapters in one week! I sure hope you're all still enjoying this fic, 'cause I'm still really enjoying writing it!**

**Thanks so much to all who are still enjoying this saga! And again mega thanks to all of you who have reviewed! You seriously make my day! So I hope you keep reading and enjoying and reviewing!**

**Rating: PG-13 (for sexual suggestion, yes people this means we're gettin' some Logan and Rogue action this chapter! I know it's been a long wait, since what, like chapter 10 I think. But hopefully it'll be worth while!)**

**Disclaimer: Yeah right! As if I own anything, X-Men aren't mine, nothing is mine.**

**Monroe-Mary – **you had asked a while back why I refer to Logan as Logan and not Wolverine if I'm always referring to Marie as Rogue. You wondered why I don't call her Marie if I'm using the name Logan. Well to answer your question (even though I know it's a little late, sorry about that) I try to reserve the name "Marie" for only when Logan is referring to her in a very serious sense. i.e. if he's trying to make a point or telling her something serious or if they're like in the midst of some passionate moment. I always want everyone to call her Rogue because that's how she was in the movie. Anyway, I hope that answers your question. Thanks again for reviewing!

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 14:Two Chains****  
**  
Three days they'd been trapped in the cold, dark, dungeon like room. Surrounded completely in blackness most of the time, they were getting use to the cold but their hunger was beginning to get the better of them both. Logan's healing abilities made it much easier on him, so he always made sure to give Rogue the majority of the food whenever it was brought in, which wasn't often. Only twice had the meager tray of scraps been slid across the rough dirt floor, dust kicking up around it, nicely filling the tiny portions with a fine layer of sand that made each bite crunch, making for an unnatural and distasteful meal.

"Jeez, I wish they wouldn't slide the tray across the floor like that," Rogue complained, as her teeth crunched down on a nice mouthful of sand and grit, "I mean would it kill them to just leave the plate by the door where we can go get it?" She scowled down at the tiny scrap of sandwich left on the plate, the thought of eating it almost as nauseating as the thought of _not_ eating it. "You sure ya don't want some?"

Logan only smirked over at her, raising an eyebrow in amusement, "after all the bitching and moaning you've been doing? I'll pass thanks."

She let out a small gasp, feigning shock and gave him a light punch to the shoulder giggling at his dry sense of humor, who knew the big bad Wolverine had a funny bone?

"Ow," he grumbled in an attempt to look hurt by her pathetic hit, "take it easy there darlin', I bruise easily."

She smiled across at him, watching in amusement as he rubbed his shoulder with the worst fake look of hurt on his face she'd ever seen.

"Aw poor baby," she drawled leaning over to rub his shoulder gently with the palm of her hand and giving him an equally phony look of sympathy to match his feigned attempt at looking hurt.

To this he merely cocked an eyebrow and let out a low throaty growl that came across more sexy than threatening and in turn sending chills down Rogue's spine.

'_Damn,'_ she thought silently, _'does he have _any_ idea how sexy he is when he's trying to be cute?'_

Trying to forget the sex god seated beside her she turned her attention back to the unfinished food. Uninterested in getting yet another mouthful of dirt she finally picked up the tiny bit of sandwich and tossed it across the room toward the door, where it tumbled to a stop, completely coating itself in a layer of dust.

* * *

The sun shone brightly, almost electrifying the red rock of the canyon walls and making them almost glow. It was hot out, much to hot to be traipsing around the desert in head to toe black leather, but still, there he was, drudging through the dirt on what seemed like an endless search. The sand flew up behind his visor making his eyes water relentlessly and every breath filling his lungs with a layer of dust making it nearly impossible to breathe normally.

They'd been searching for days without a lead, not so much as a footprint or a scrap of torn clothing to indicate Rogue and Logan's whereabouts.

'_Had they really been captured by Magneto?'_

'_Were they still alive?'_

'_What would he want with them?'_

'_Or were they just off somewhere together? Alone, where that growling son of a bitch could get his paws on her.'_

He couldn't think about it anymore, the thoughts had been tormenting him for days and it was becoming too much to handle. He needed to clear his head, keep his thoughts of her and him together out of his mind. If he didn't, he'd go insane from all the what-ifs. If his relationship with Rogue was meant to survive this ordeal, then it would, they would be strong enough to pick up where they left off and move on. And if they weren't meant to be… well… then he guessed he'd move on without her and obviously it wasn't meant to be.

Scott's thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he caught a glimpse of something catching the light off in the distance. He sprinted down the dusty road and about a half a mile down he turned off into the ditch. Small trees and bushes covered the side of the road, the bushes looking more like twigs that had had the life sucked out of them, their dry and brittle branches scorched by the sun, leaving no trace of the foliage that should cover such a plant.

As he drew closer the sun reflected even more intensely off the mysterious object buried in the ditch, its bright glow nearly blinding him through his ruby visor. He slipped quickly down the dirt hill off the side of the road, his boots kicking up a cloud of dust all around him as he slid, finally he regained his footing and stopped abruptly in front of the object that had caught his interest.

There is was.

Its candy blue frame glimmering in the bright light of the afternoon sun, it was _his_ motorbike.

'_Son of a bitch!'_

* * *

"Storm, come in Storm," Scott's voice crackled over the small hand held radio across the canyon and Storm reached down to unbuckle it from her belt, the black leather of her uniform creaking uncomfortably as she tried to ignore the sticky, sweaty feeling that was gathering underneath.

"Yes Scott, I'm here," she replied calmly and clearly, her voice smooth and delicate causing Kurt to smile at just the simple sound of it. Standing only a few feet away he caught a glimpse of the small smile she flashed him as she spoke and he flicked his tail in appreciation, grinning rather widely himself in return.

Scott's voice crackled through again, breaking up their subtle moment, "Storm, I've found something, I'm about a mile up the road."

"We'll be right there," she replied, turning to Kurt she was about to ask him if he would teleport them to Scott's location, but he was one step ahead of her. Before she even got one word out, he had her wrapped in his embrace. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut and held on, preparing for the strange sensation that was about to flood her body and the two instantly disappeared into a large puff of blue smoke, leaving only their footprints behind on the sandy floor of the canyon.

An instant later they appeared up on the rim of the canyon, Kurt took a quick glance around and once he got a visual on Scott, the two again vanished leaving only a trail of blue smoke in their wake and a moment later appeared, as if out of no where, only a few feet away from Scott.

"Oh my god," Storm gasped, letting go of Kurt and taking the spot next to Scott down in the ditch, her eyes following his gaze as the two stood silently staring down at the rubble that was once his motorcycle. The metal was twisted in unnatural positions, fenders bent upright, the gas tank cover torn from its home just in front of the black leather seat only to be tossed to the side and flipped nearly inside out. The handle bars were distorted and bent, now facing out towards the front wheel, break levers completely torn from the frame now lay in a mass of steel covered in red dirt, while the front forks sat twisted unnaturally out to the sides of the bike. The once beautiful piece of equipment now only a mangled heap of metal and it was plainly obvious that this was _not_ the work of some wild animal or a freakishly strong human just looking for kicks in destroying something.

Only one man was capable of distorting metal in this way.

And now it was painfully obvious that their friends _were _most definitely in trouble.

* * *

Magneto's gloved hands squeezed Rogue's tiny wrists tightly causing her to wince in pain as he brutally dragged her along, throwing her forcefully into the cold metal chair at the center of his large machine in the enormous room. The cruel metal shackles clanked noisily as the old man snapped them shut around her ankles and finally around her wrists, nearly catching the skin as they locked tightly, securing her in place, unable to run or fight for freedom.

"What the hell do you want with me?" She shouted angrily, struggling in a vain attempt to escape her steel bonds. "You've already used me to absorb these other powers, what do you want with me now?" She scowled up at him, eyes feral with rage, lips curled in an uncharacteristic snarl and eyebrows furrowed in anger. Her look was not unlike that of the Wolverine on a bad day, and a low growl escaped her lips warning her captor that if she ever managed to escape, he _would _pay the price.

The old man merely frowned back at her, unimpressed by her attempt at intimidating him, "it would appear you've managed to absorb _more_ than just the Wolverine's healing abilities. That's a nasty temper you've got there," he reached out squeezing her chin with his black glove, "it's a shame really – for such a pretty young girl."

"Go to hell you son of a…!" Rogue growled back.

"Ah ah ah," he smirked, dismissing her words with a simple wave of his hand, "no need to name call."

Her bonds clanked noisily as she continued to fight for freedom, her long dark hair falling in tangled knots over her big brown eyes and the harsh metal bands tearing at the skin around her wrists and ankles. But suddenly realizing that this struggle was getting her no where she stopped, hesitating for a moment and ceasing her fight for release. She looked up at the man towering over her, his silvery hair shining in the bright artificial light of the room, she let her features soften in an attempt to look submissive and asked again, much quieter this time, "why won't you just let us go?" It was almost a whimper, "what do you want from me?"

His features also softened, but did not convey sincerity, he knew what she was trying to do and he wasn't about to fall for the docile façade she was putting on. He knew the X-Men and Charles for that matter, far too well to fall for such a trick.

But he humored her none the less reaching out once again to cup her cheek in the palm of his hand and replied softly, "I'm sorry my dear but one session in the machine is not quite enough for me to get what I want, I'm afraid you will be here for quite some time so you might as well get use to it."

He pulled his hand away turning and heading down the metal stairs toward the control panel, but Rogue stopped him with another question, "fine then, you need _me_, fine, but let Logan go, you don't need him." Her eyes were filled with desperation now, desperation to save her friend though she knew it was pointless.

Magneto turned back to face her, sneering with satisfaction and raising an eyebrow at her, "oh I'm sorry my dear, but I can't do that." He took a step towards her, leaning down to whisper in her ear. She could feel his hot, moist breath saturating her senses, which were still somewhat heightened from her contact with Logan and she gasped at the intensity of his overwhelming scent.

The old mans voice came as a bare whisper as he breathed heavily in her ear, "I'm afraid you're no good to me without the Wolverine." He paused for a moment and she turned her eyes to glare at him, the deep brown pools flashing with hatred as he finally finished, "I need him to bring you back, I can't have you dying on me, now can I?"

With that he turned on his heel and strode down the metal stairs, his heavy black boots thudding harshly against their metal surface. Flicking several of the switches on the control panel, the monstrosity of a machine roared to life and electricity hummed throughout the room as the walls began to vibrate violently.

Only moments later Mystique and Pyro entered through the door on the opposite wall, each headed towards the several smaller doors that had contained the cages the last time Rogue had been here. The doors flew open and the blue metamorph and the young man Rogue used to call "friend" proceeded to push the cages into the room. As before the one cage contained the same small boy, his sobs were less this time, he seemed weak, his fight and will stripped from his tiny body and Pyro easily shackled him into his chair in the far orbiting station.

Mystique pushed the second cage past where Rogue sat and again she saw her friend in torn yellow pajamas being brutally ripped from inside the cage and thrown into the metal chair. The scene was identical to the one she'd witnessed only the day before only this time it was much quieter in the room, Jubilee's cries were almost nonexistent and she didn't even try to call out to Rogue. She seemed weak, her fight gone as she seemed to submit willingly to the slender blue woman who was now locking her metal bonds in place.

"What the hell have you done to her?" Rogue snarled at the sight of her usually cocky, larger than life friend, now a mere shell of a girl with no will left to fight.

Magneto merely ignored Rogue's shouts, pointing for Mystique to bring the final cage into the room, which was again covered in a long black cloth that made it impossible to see what was behind it. She quickly hooked the cables up to the large metal cage which sat still this time, whoever was in there was obviously in a similar state to Jubilee and the young boy. Seeming to have no fight left leaving the black cloth sitting still and other than the loud whirring of the metal monster, the room was silent.

* * *

"Yes Scott, I'm here," Professor Xavier's voice crackled over the communicator and echoed through the Blackbird, "have you found anything?"

"Yes professor, we…" the leader of the X-Men's voice faded away and he slumped into the pilots' seat unable to finish.

Storm stepped up beside Scott, taking her seat next to him and continuing where he'd left off, "Professor, we found Scott's motorcycle."

There was only silence on the other end of the line so Storm went on, "it was mangled professor, almost beyond recognition," her voice hitched in her throat at the thought of their missing teammates as she pushed a lock of her long white hair behind her ear.

"Magneto," was the only response.

Storm cleared her throat softly forcing herself to go on, "judging by the wreck I think it is the only possibility, no normal person could do that kind of damage."

"Was there any sign of Logan or Rogue?"

A deafening silence filled the jet as Storm stared over at her friend in the pilots' seat, his fingers tangled with the small silver chain he held, its metallic surface glimmering in the sunlight that streamed through the window. The delicate string of tiny silver loops fell loosely over his fingers as he twirled it about, fingering each link carefully, not seeming to notice or care about the woman now staring over at him. He simply wanted to sit there. His fingers continued to entwine with the dainty necklace, moving it around from one digit to the next, until the light caught something else, something brighter, something that reflected the light much more brilliantly.

Scott's fingers stopped moving and he laid the tiny reflective ring in the palm of his hand, staring at it in an almost trance like state. Its perfectly round band settled gently in his palm, its polished platinum surface reflecting the light and the brilliant diamond solitaire at its peak sparkling in the bright sunlight.

They'd found it next to the wreckage, nestled neatly in the red clay, its claws slightly marred and packed with dirt, but it was most definitely hers.

It _was_ Rogue's ring, there was no doubt about that.

'_How had it gotten there?'_ Scott wondered, _'and why was she wearing it around her neck on a chain?' _

"Storm?" The professors' voice broke the silence and the white haired weather goddess looked up as if surprised that she was still talking on the communicator.

"Um… yes, I'm sorry Professor," she apologized.

"Ororo," he tried again, "was there any sign of Logan or Rogue when you found the motorcycle?"

"Yes," she began hesitantly, silently wishing that Scott would just go outside so she could tell the professor in private, "we found Rogue's necklace." She paused again, glancing over at the pilots seat but Scott didn't even seem to notice she was there, "and her ring," she finished in a bare whisper.

The line was quiet for several moments, the static crackling and popping in the silence.

Finally Xavier spoke again, "was there anything else?"

"Yes professor."

"Storm?" His voice was filled with concern at her hesitation to continue this conversation; it was obvious something was very wrong.

"Logan's dog tags," she sighed, trying not to look at Scott, "we found his chain and the tag with Rogue's ring at the site."

* * *

She'd been curled up next to him all night, ever since she'd been brought back to their cell, nearly dead and in desperate need of Logan's healing powers. Magneto had ordered Logan to heal her once again, not that he needed an order to perform such a task; he would have done it with or without the old mans permission. His healing abilities had flooded through her, filling her with renewed life, more memories and feelings that were not her own.

It was beginning to become a ritual they shared.

Something they'd never taken lightly, but something they both knew they could rely on.

He was invincible, as far as he knew anyway. And as long as she was with him, she would be invincible too.

She'd been near death this time and it had taken every ounce of strength he had to heal her, when she'd regained consciousness she'd pushed his bulky frame off of her, letting him collapse to the floor. His body lay there, still, on the cool ground next to her. She'd snuggled in close to him wrapping her tiny arms around his large frame in an effort to keep him warm while his body healed itself. Her legs tangled in with his and when he finally began to regain some of his strength, he'd returned her affection by pulling her into his strong muscular arms and tangling his fingers with hers. There they'd remained for the entire night, both in desperate need of rest and both glad for the warm comforting body that lay next to them.

"Logan?" Her voice echoed through the large empty room in the early hours of the morning.

"Yeah?" Came the gruff reply, the hazel of his eyes flickering in the torchlight as he looked over at her lying next to him, her white bra now completely black with dirt while the once brilliant white streaks that framed her face were now merely a lighter brown than the rest of her hair, saturated with dirt and clay.

"Do ya think they're lookin' for us?"

"You know they are."

"But what if they're not?" Her voice sounded shaky and he felt her tremble in his arms.

Pulling her tighter to him so her backside pressing tightly into his groin sending almost electric shocks through his entire body, he replied, "why would you even think that? They're the X-geeks," she giggled at the silly term he liked to use.

"This is what they do kid," he nuzzled his face in the crook of her neck, breathing in her scent deeply. Though she was dirty and cold, hadn't showered in days or brushed her teeth, she was still the best smelling thing he could imagine and he wanted to bathe in the scent as long as possible.

The room was silent for several minutes, him just enjoying her closeness, breathing her in and her letting him. Her senses were still in overdrive since the previous night and she could hear him breathing deeply, taking in her scent and though she didn't think he was aware of it, she was quietly doing the same.

"Logan?" She finally spoke again, her voice a bare whisper.

"Yeah kid?"

"Do ya ever think you'll stop callin' me kid?" She smiled as the words escaped her lips. She knew it had become more of a term of endearment now than a jab at her age. But somehow it still made her feel like he viewed her as a child.

He didn't respond right away. He knew what she was getting at, she'd never liked the way he'd treated her as the young girl in his charge and he wanted to tell her that things were different now. That the name was just a term of endearment he used.

Something that was just between them, something special, not something derogatory.

He opened his mouth to answer her, but stopped himself short. They were so close now, her slight body pressed tight against him; he could feel every part of her. And now, thanks to Magneto, not only could he feel her physically, he could also feel a part of her mentally.

Finally throwing all the parts of him that told him not to, out the window, he allowed his senses to take over and decided to _show _her, instead of telling her, why he called her kid.

His breaths grew thick and heavy in her ear as she awaited his response, he slowly moved his head up, running his nose over her jaw line and up around the edge of her ear letting his lips trail softly over the same places. He could feel the tiny goose bumps forming on her skin as his stubble brushed against her, but she didn't pull away so he continued. His breathing was becoming more ragged as the moments passed and he could hear hers catching in her throat as she struggled to lie still, trying not to give in to the obvious temptation of this man before her.

His mouth stopped just over her ear, his warm breath wet and heavy on the side of her cheek as he finally spoke, "I dunno _kid_," he mumbled with a small smirk as he nibbled at her earlobe then began tracing his tongue in invisible patterns down her jaw to her throat where he gently let his teeth sink into the soft flesh.

She let out a tiny whimper at his touch and he could hear her smiling, she was finally letting her emotions take over and giving into the overwhelming temptation right in front of her. She turned herself over so they were now facing each other. Logan reached down pulling her leg up over top of his until it was wrapped snugly around his waist, while the other lingered between his legs, her knee bent high up pressing firmly into his groin.

He groaned at the sensation.

Stretching her hands up his back, she let her fingers linger over each well defined muscle, trying to take it all in and store it away in her memory. This was Logan, _her _Logan, and this was _real_, she wanted to savor it, remember it, it couldn't be rushed.

His mere touch was elating, all her senses rising to their peak until she could barely stand to have any part of her body not touching him. She pressed in closer, her breasts sliding over the taut skin of his chest, they moaned in unison at the sensation of her peaked nipples caressing over him.

"Oh god you feel so good," Rogue mumbled almost incoherently as his hands traced their way down her back, clutching at the skin as he pulled her against him even though they were already pressed tight together.

He raised his mouth to hers, at first their lips only gently brushing together as if they were afraid to touch anymore than that. But the fear didn't last long, only moments later Logan's tongue slipped from between his lips, gently parting hers and she welcomed the warm wetness of his mouth. Their kiss growing in intensity, both seeming desperate for the others touch as their tongues dueled against one another. Massaging and caressing, their warm mouths crushed together into one, sending a flood of sensations flowing through them both, sensations neither had felt before.

He'd been with many women before, all of which had brought something new to the Wolverine, something all their own. But it had never been anything like this. This girl was in his head and though it was merely a sensation that lingered within him, it was enough to elate all his senses. He could almost _feel _what she was feeling, almost _knew _what she knew and making him _want _what she wanted.

He felt her warm hands traveling up the length of his body finally running their way through his unruly hair. Down the back of his neck they trailed, gently caressing over the soft hairs there, until they continued on down his back, carefully tracing invisible patterns over each muscle, making a memory of each one and how it felt, all the while, his mouth exploring hers, wanting to know every part of it, to _feel _every part of it.

"Well well well," a rather sarcastic voice suddenly came out of the darkness and the room was instantly filled with light, "what have we here?"

The two on the floor quickly scampered to get up, parting their heated bodies so they stood flushed in front of the dark shadow that loomed in the doorway.

"I always knew she had a _thing _for you," Magneto's voice boomed through the cell, they couldn't make out any of his features, the light streaming in from out in the hall was far to bright leaving him only a black silhouette in the doorway, but they knew it was him. The old man continued, "but I always thought you were smarter than that _Wolverine._"

Logan growled from deep within but had no chance to react to the mans snide comment.

He merely smirked holding his hand firmly out in front of him, invisibly trapping Logan where he stood, once again unable to move or fight, he was simply frozen on the spot. After a moment, Magneto dropped a small metal platter of food to the floor, but this time it wasn't kicked across like it had been every other time. He simply left it sitting there waiting for them to come and collect it, it seemed puzzling at first and Rogue wondered why the sudden change of heart?

"Wondering why I've suddenly decided to leave your food by the door are we?" Magneto smirked, obviously amused at the stunned look on Rogue's face.

'_How could he know I was thinking that?' She thought silently._

"Oh I know _everything_ my dear," the old man chuckled, "I know you were hoping for the food to be left by the door so it wouldn't get covered in dirt and now I've complied with your wishes, so I'll expect that you won't give me any trouble tomorrow."

With that he turned and left the room leaving Logan and Rogue alone in the dim torchlight.

**Thanks for reading, please remember to review! **

**And I'll do my best to get Chapter 15 up ASAP!**


	15. A Gift or A Curse?

**A/N: Ok, so here we are at chapter 15, I can't believe it's that far already. Just a quick note to say thanks to all who are reading this fic, I'm so glad you're enjoying it and I appreciate your feedback more than you'll ever know! **

**I just love it when you take the time to point out things you like or don't like and if there's something you're confused about or that doesn't make sense. If you do I'll do my best to make some sense of it in the following chapter 'cause the last thing I want is for everyone to leave going, "huh?" So please, let me know what you think, hopefully it'll only make this better and more enjoyable for you to read. :o)**

**Also, in this chapter I decided to try my hand at writing one of these "conversation style fics", the entire chapter isn't written in this style, only one scene with Logan and Rogue. I hope it came out alright and I hope you all like it!**

**Rating: PG-13 (for some coarse language)**

**Disclaimer: Yeah right! As if I own anything, X-Men aren't mine, nothing is mine.**

**Hadry: **You had asked why Rogue doesn't realize that Logan loves her after all the times they've touched now. Well, to try and answer your question as best I can. smiles sheepishly I was kinda hoping no one would pick up on that little fact ;o) But seeing as you have, I'm just going to chalk it up to the fact that she has so much else going on in her head, you know from the machine and the other mutants that are undoubtedly in her mind as well, that she can't focus on that one thing of Logan's and so for now she's unaware of his true feelings. Also, and I know this is awful of me, but 'cause I'm the author, I get to decide what they do or don't realize (LOL, just teasing!). Ignorance is bliss isn't it? Tee hee. (I tried to straighten some of this out in this chapter so hopefully it'll be all clear by the time you're finished reading).

**Mrs. Skywalker: **To answer your question, yes Scott is the guy in X2 that was supposed to marry Jean (the girl that died) and he is the guy with the "laser eyes". Hope that helps. :o)

**Monroe-Mary:** Sorry for having Magneto ruin the mood last chapter between Logan and Rogue but I had to do it. I'm not sure yet if I want them to do it while they're in there so for now, I had to do what I had to do. My apologies!

**Kat500:** I'm extremely curious to know what you think is under the black cloth. I wonder if you're right! E-mail me if you want to tell, I'd love to hear your thoughts. :o)

**RoganLuvr:** Sorry to confuse you, I hope this chapter helps clear things up for you, but yes, you're sort of right, something Magneto did to her did let some of her thoughts drift over to Logan, but that's all I'm sayin'! ;o)

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 15: A Gift or a Curse?**

"Storm, Cyclops, come in please," the voice of Professor Xavier crackled over the communicator sending a tinny echo through the deserted belly of the Blackbird.

"Yes professor!" Scott's voice suddenly came out of nowhere when he heard the communiqué coming from inside the jet and set off running up the ramp and into the large metal beast with Storm following close behind.

"I've found something," came the reply.

Storm and Scott sat motionless in the pilot seats of the jet, both suddenly filled with a hope they'd lost days earlier, but both afraid to ask the ever wondering question.

What had he found?

"What is it professor?" Scott finally asked, staring over at his white haired counterpart through the ruby lens of his visor. She smiled warmly back at him, doing her best to look optimistic, though she certainly didn't feel it inside.

"I've finally managed to get a lock on our young friend John."

A rush of air was heard throughout the cockpit as both mutants let out the breath they'd been holding in.

"Oh thank goodness," Storm sighed, "where are they professor?"

The COM link crackled with static as the professor replied, making it nearly impossible to make out his words. Scott fiddled with several of the knobs on the controls, flipping switches and turning dials making the professors voice slip in and out of range until finally the crackling dissipated.

"Professor please repeat," Scott demanded, the look of relief seen on his face only moments ago, now slipping rapidly from his features, once again leaving the angry man that had surfaced only days before.

"I said, I'm sending you the coordinates now, I was only able to get a lock for a brief moment but I believe it will be enough to give us a place to start. He appeared to be up near the South rim, start there, check everywhere and investigate everything. When I lost the link to John I was only able to get a picture for a brief moment, it appeared he was near the canyon walls, possibly in an area containing large boulders and extremely rocky terrain. The entrance to Magneto's base will surely be hidden, so be on watch for anything out of the ordinary."

"Yes professor," Storm replied, grabbing her gloves from where they lay on the dash and slipping them carefully over her long slender fingers.

"It's gonna be dark soon," Scott snapped, jerking his body roughly out of his seat and striding quickly towards the ramp, "come on, I don't wanna waste the light!"

"Professor we'll be in touch." Storms final words echoed through the jet and were followed by a gentle click at the communication was broken and she quickly made her way after Scott out into the bright light of the afternoon sun.

* * *

"Logan."

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you somethin'?"

"Shoot."

"Do ya think I should get this gap in my teeth fixed?"

"What?"

"You heard me."

"What the hell are you talkin' about kid?"

"I'm thinkin' of getting' this gap in my teeth fixed, if we ever get outta here."

"Why?"

"I dunno, 'cause it's yucky."

"Says who?"

"Me."

"..."

"Logan?"

"We're locked in a cold, dark prison cell, in the middle of bum-fuck Arizona, and yer thinkin' about goin' to the dentist?"

"So?"

"..."

"Logan?"

"Go to sleep kid."

"Why?"

"Cause I said so that's why."

"Fine."

"..."

"Logan?"

"What?"

"So _do_ you think I should get this gap fixed when we get home?"

"No."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Why not?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Just because, that's all."

"That's not an answer Logan."

"Kid."

"What?"

"Drop it."

"But…"

"Marie!"

"Yeah?"

"Let it go."

"Fine."

"..."

"..."

"Why would you wanna get that gap fixed?"

"What? So now you're all Mr. Talkative?"

"Marie."

"What?"

"Just answer the question."

"Why?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Because I said so that's why."

"What was the question again?"

"How come you wanna get that gap in your teeth fixed?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Just because."

"Marie!"

"What?"

"Stop fucking around."

"Oh, so you get to be all, 'because I said so' but I can't?"

"Exactly."

"..."

"Well?"

"I dunno why, I guess I just thought maybe it'd make me look sexier if my teeth were perfect."

"How do ya figure that?"

"I dunno, all the movie stars have perfect teeth."

"So?'

"Well, obviously that's what men want in their women, so I just figured that…"

"Not all men."

"Not all men what?"

"Want their women to be perfect."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"..."

"..."

"Do you?"

"Do I what?"

"Like your women to be perfect."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Marie."

"What?"

"Don't start."

"Sorry."

"..."

"So you think I'm sexy enough _with_ this space in my teeth?"

"..."

"Logan?"

"..."

"You do don't you?" _'giggles'_

"Marie."

"What?"

"Let it go."

"No. You think I'm sexy as hell!"

"Marie."

"You just wanna jump my bones whenever I'm around don'tcha' sugah?"

"Marie."

"I had no idea the big bad Wolverine had a soft spot for poor dental hygiene."

"Marie."

"I betcha just wish we were makin' out right now, maybe slippin' that tongue of yers in between that little gap."

"Marie."

"What?"

"Shut up."

"Wh… mmff… oh…" _'breathes heavily'_

"..."

"Oh god Logan…"

"..."

"..."

* * *

"Why is this taking so long Eric?"

"Patience Mystique," came the old mans reply as the two stood before the towering metal monstrosity in the middle of the large cave like room, while Pyro stood off to the side leaning up against the control panel flicking his lighter open and closed every few seconds.

"They're going to be looking for them," the slender blue metamorph returned, her features betraying the doubt that had been growing in her with each passing day.

"They already are," Magneto smirked confidently, "but they'll be too late."

The tinny click and clang of Pyro's lighter echoed throughout the room as he continued to snap it open and closed only allowing the small flame to flicker for a moment before it was quickly snuffed out again. The young man looked up from the small silver lighter he held, "you're pretty confident."

"Have I given you reason to doubt me?" Magneto asked, turning his attention to his young apprentice, who had already proven himself a valuable member of the brotherhood on more than one occasion.

"No," came the short reply, the lighter once again flitting open to reveal the small orange flame. John lifted his other hand taking the flame from the lighters tip and tumbling it gently around with his fingers as though it were a coin he could simply twirl about in his hand. "But I know these people, they won't give up, they _will_ find them."

A snort from the old man.

"He's right Eric," Mystique added, striding across the room to take a spot next to Pyro near the controls, "we need to hurry if you're going to complete this in time."

Magneto's features hardened as he watched his two accomplices suddenly taking a side against him. Giving his knuckles a good crack, he turned and strode over to them, his silvery hair reflecting the artificial light of the large room and his heavy leather boots creaking with each step. He raised his large gloved hand up to Mystique, cupping her chin in his palm and stated confidently in a voice that was a mere whisper.

"Don't defy me on this."

Pyro and Mystique only stared back at the old man, both their expressions revealing their fear of him, knowing what he was capable of.

Magneto removed his gloves and stretched his arm out in front of him, his wrist twisting and turning in the light as he flexed and relaxed his fingers in and out of a clenched fist. The other two mutants simply stood there watching him, waiting for him to continue and wondering what he would do next. The old mans' face contorted into a scowl of extreme concentration, his features blurring into one another as his eyes grew dark, almost taking on a hollow appearance as though you could see right through them. Once again his hand closed into a fist and Mystique and Pyro stood in silence watching in sheer and utter amazement as their leaders hand slowly began to morph out of it usual form. His wrinkles and liver spots instantly disappearing, the skin stretching out and becoming smooth all over, the tiny hairs on its back slowly growing longer and darkening with each spurt of growth they took on. His fingernails began to lengthen, quickly changing from their usual thin and clear consistency until they were long and thick, their color darkened to an almost brown shade growing more intense towards their now claw like tips. The old mans hand also grew, going from that of a normal sized elderly male, to that of a large animal, or an animal like man.

When his hand had finished its transformation the change slowly proceeded up the old mans arm, his muscles growing in size and strength with each passing moment, the hairs running all the way up to his shoulder lengthening and darkening as the veins began to grow more pronounced, slowly protruding from their fleshy home until his arms appeared striped with blue lines.

It was a slow transformation, but to the blue metamorph who stood silently watching, it was all too familiar, she was accustom to the change her mentor was undergoing and watched with anticipation as his familiar frame morphed painstakingly into that of the brute Sabretooth.

But as quickly as the transformation began, it was over. The old man returned to his original form, the muscles quickly fading away, hairs returning to their normal length and color, veins disappearing behind the pink flesh, leaving Magneto completely drained. Mystique and Pyro both jumped forward catching the man before he fell to the floor, his energy stripped from him at the hand of his newly acquired mutation.

Helping him carefully across the room, the two mutants lifted Magneto into one of the metal chairs in the closest orbiting station and stepped back watching him catch his breath and regain his strength.

"I need a few more sessions with the girl to get the powers I want," he gasped, trying desperately to regain control as his heart rate slowly returned to normal and his features softened, "but the sessions will be wasted if she is not fully recovered. Besides, I need to make sure you and the other mutants have had a chance to recuperate as well or I won't get the full influence of your power. As you can see, what I've absorbed so far isn't nearly enough, we'll continue as planned, first thing in the morning."

Mystique and Pyro glanced over at one another, doubt of this plan evident in both their features but neither dared say a word.

"Trust me, this base is well protected from Charles and his pitiful band of mutants. We'll have plenty of time to finish the experiment before they arrive, and by the time they do, it'll be too late, I'll be the most powerful mutant in the world and there won't be a thing Charles can do about it."

His lips curled up into an evil smirk at the thought of his own genius plan as he forced himself out of the cold metal chair and slowly made his way out of the room as confidently as his tired body would allow him. Mystique and Pyro simply stood and watched as he left, both still in doubt but also wondering if he was right.

* * *

They'd spent most of the day in silence, she'd picked away at the meager tray of scraps Magneto had brought in trying to share it with Logan, which of course he'd plainly refused. He just kept insisting that she needed it more and to go ahead and eat it all to keep up her strength. Leery at first, she'd saved him half the sandwich in hopes that he'd change his mind, but after two hours of sitting there staring at it just lying there on the shiny metal platter, she'd finally given in and inhaled the entire thing in only two bites.

Neither had brought up the subject of Magneto's plan and though it was the only thing on either of their minds, neither was prepared to discuss it just yet. She'd been struggling rather unsuccessfully to sort out all that was now in her head, so many things seemed to be in there now. Not only was there an obscene amount of Logan, resulting in temporary heightened senses and an overwhelming sexual desire for anything that moved, but there seemed to be a lot of everyone else in there too.

She was beginning to think that Logan's theory about one of Magneto's other captives being a telepath wasn't so far off. The things in her head didn't feel like they'd simply come from her mutation, like she'd simply absorbed them through the use of the large metal monster of a machine. These feelings were different, more like fleeting images and sensed thoughts, not like the intense bombardment of dreams and memories she got after making physical contact.

Not only was the feeling in itself different, but the after effects seemed to be inexplicably odd as well. When she'd come too the last time Logan had healed her, she could hear things. At first she'd just chalked it up to the heightened senses she'd picked up from Logan and the fact that her head was now swimming with him, she'd dismissed it as simply an overload she wasn't used to handling. But when Magneto had brought in the small tray of food the following morning, she was finally convinced that something was most definitely wrong.

She hadn't said anything to Logan about it, not really knowing how to put into words what was going on in her head, but knowing that she'd never sensed Eric as strongly as she did when he'd walked into their cell that morning. His presence had been overwhelming, but not only with the memories and feelings from the day before, this time it was as though she could hear his thoughts, the ones he was having at that exact moment, in the present. It was an overwhelming flood of chatter in her head making it nearly impossible to actually hear what he was saying to them, the voice in her mind was too loud and strong but at the same time indiscernible. She could hear it loud and clear, but what it said made no sense whatsoever, as if he were speaking in a foreign language or something, it was just a mash of words and voices all fighting for supremacy in her head.

And if all that wasn't bad enough, she almost could've sworn she heard Mystique and Pyro _thinking_ about beating the hell out of each other out in the hall when the door had opened.

"Hey kid," Logan's voice suddenly shot out through the silence, startling Rogue out of her thoughts as he grabbed her arm.

She jumped back at the sudden touch and her body was instantly flooded with the strangest tingling sensation. Logan's eyes grew wide as he stared down at her hand clamped firmly in his powerful grip, his eyes flicked back up to hers that were now also staring in shock down at her hand. Or at least what she thought _should_ be her hand. But it wasn't. Not by a long shot it wasn't. Last time she'd checked, her skin wasn't blue and it sure as hell wasn't covered in scales!

Logan released his grip, pulling his large hand quickly away from her as he continued to gape in amazement at her now strangely mismatched limbs, "what the fuck?"

"Oh god!" Rogue shrieked, scampering back against the wall and shaking her hand frantically. Her eyes had grown huge, the colored circles in the centre nearly overtaking the rest as she stared in disbelief down at her arm, watching it slowly return to its normal color and skin type.

"What the hell was that?" Logan asked, reaching out to once again clasp her hand in his, inspecting it carefully for any permanent damage or sign of what on earth they had just witnessed.

She merely sat there in shock, staring down at her tiny hand resting gently in his overly large palm, the flesh now its normal shade of pale pink, the skin soft and smooth as it had been moments before, her fingernails once carefully manicured, now caked with dirt but still nicely showcasing the tiny white half moons at her cuticles. They were just as they should be, no evidence to prove that anything out of the ordinary had even happened.

After sitting in silent awe for several moments Rogue finally leapt up, throwing herself into Logan's strong arms and burying her face in his chest, "what the hell is he doing to me Logan?" She sobbed, clinging desperately to his warm strong body like a lifeline as he hugged her tightly to him.

"I dunno kid," he murmured into her hair, "but we need to get outta here."

"I don't," she stammered, trying desperately to collect her self and steady her quivering voice as tears continued to stream down her cheeks soaking the front of his chest, "I don't feel like me anymore Logan, I feel like I'm lost inside my own head."

"Don't worry darlin', we'll get outta here, I'm not gonna let that bastard take you anywhere again."

* * *

'_Storm!' _The professors voice suddenly echoed inside the weather goddesses mind making her stop dead in her tracks as she and her two companions trudged through the never ending sand and rock.

_'Yes professor,'_ she replied silently, her counterparts continuing on ahead not even noticing that she'd stopped.

_'Ororo, stop where you are.'_

_'What's wrong professor?'_

_'You're at the location, that is where I locked on John earlier, you are very close Ororo, I can feel that something is not right with the terrain around you.'_

_'Alright professor, we'll search here, I'll be in touch.'_

_'Be careful Storm.'_

"Scott!"

* * *

"Logan," Rogue's voice broke the hours of silence that had filled their cell. She'd been resting against the cold stone wall since the strange incident with her arm earlier and the rough surface was beginning to rub the skin on her back raw. Feeling the tiny grains of sand and dirt digging further and further into her flesh, she finally leaned forward breaking the connection and tried unsuccessfully to find a comfortable spot lying on her stomach on the cool dirt floor.

"Yeah?"

"Did you love Jean?"

Logan's eyes widened at her odd question and he shifted uncomfortably in the dirt until he was lying on his stomach, chin propped up on his hands and elbows resting on the cool floor, mirroring the position of the young girl in front of him and leaving his nose mere inches from hers.

"Why?"

"I dunno, just wondering I guess."

His eyes remained locked on hers, usually it seemed as though he could look straight through them into her soul, but not this time. Now it was different, her eyes were clouded, blurry almost. On the exterior they were the same as always, large deep pools of brown chocolate that he could get lost in for days if he wasn't careful, but something behind them had changed. Almost as though the voices in her head had somehow blurred the line between where Marie ended and all those other people began.

He could see the loss buried deep within them, the heartache that echoed through her as she felt small pieces of herself slipping away only to be replaced by a crowd of mentally unstable mutants looking for control. This question she asked now seemed more of a distraction than anything, something familiar, something to keep her mind focused on the present, on _her_ life, so she could continue to fight the demons trying so desperately to erase her from her own mind.

He didn't want to answer that question, didn't even know if he himself knew the answer. But somehow he also knew that he needed to answer, if not for the future he somehow believed he could have with this girl, then at least for the sake of her sanity. He had to do something, he could see her slipping away, away from him. So he finally replied, his voice a mere whisper, but confident none the less.

"I think I loved the _idea_ of Jean."

Her forehead crinkled and eyes narrowed at his response, "the _idea_?"

Clearing his throat and rolling his heavy adamantium frame over until he was sitting upright with his back pressed once again against the roughness of the stone wall, he continued, "yeah, I think I loved the idea of her, like people love the idea of something untouchable."

He watched as her eyes sunk to the floor and the small smile on her lips faded at his poor choice of words.

"Marie," he said firmly, reaching out to pull her up off the floor and positioning her carefully between his legs so her back was resting against his broad chest, her backside pressed firmly into his groin and his strong arms wrapped securely around her. "You know I didn't mean it like that."

"I know."

"Besides," he smirked cocking his head to the side so she could look back at him, "you're plenty touchable now, see," he jabbed her in the side several times with his finger whispering, "touch touch touch."

She giggled swatting his hand away and smiled back at him knowing he was right.

It was silent for several moments before Rogue spoke up again giving him a jab in the ribs with her elbow, "nice try bub, but you're avoiding the question."

"Damn," he smirked, "thought maybe you'd forgotten."

"Uh uh," she shook her head 'no' and whispered, "spill."

He cleared his throat grumbling something about women and their damn need to talk about everything, before finally replying in a voice that was more of a growl than anything, "no, no I didn't love Jean. I guess I just liked the idea of lovin' her, like how people like the idea of lovin' a movie star or their favorite musician or somethin'."

"Oh," a soft reply from her.

"I guess the only way to explain it is to say that she was unattainable and that made her a challenge, I've never been one to walk away from a challenge and from the moment I laid eyes on her I knew I'd never be able to have her."

It was quiet for several moments before he tugged her a little closer and chuckled, "plus, it bugged the hell outta One Eye."

Rogue smiled at first, amused at the way he'd always been able to get Scotts knickers in a twist without even trying, but her smile quickly faded as her mind wandered back to the man in question.

'_Oh god, Scott.'_ She thought silently, _'What he must be going though right now, he must be worried sick and what am I doing? Sitting here with the man who tried time and time again to steal his last fiancé from him, snuggling with him, kissing him, flirting with him. Fuck! I nearly had sex with him for Christ's sake!" _

"You ok?" Logan finally asked when she'd been quiet for so long.

"Uh yeah, yeah I'm fine," she mumbled pulling herself out of his embrace and sliding across the floor to lean against the wall opposite him and averting her eyes from his intense stare.

"Don't lie ta me darlin'."

"I'm not," came the short reply as she turned her back to him, leaning her weight on her shoulder which now scrubbed uncomfortably over the walls rough surface.

"Marie," his voice was now low and gruff, showing his disinterest in continuing this silly charade. "Cut the bullshit, you're freakin' 'cause I mentioned his name."

"I'm not _freakin'_."

Logan let out a low grumble that resonated down into the pit of his ever empty stomach as he shuffled across the floor next to her, but making sure not to touch her, her body language and scent was all too clear, he knew she wouldn't deal with any physical contact from him right now very well.

"It's alright kid, you're allowed to feel weird about this."

A snort from her, "_weird_ is hardly the word to describe it Logan."

He shifted uncomfortably again, he hated intimate conversations like this, wasn't any good at them, but his rash actions toward her since they'd been captured had landed him square in the middle of a tête-à-tête and there didn't appear to be any viable exits.

"Yeah, I know."

"I've been fuckin' cheatin' on him Logan! What the hell does that say about me? What kind of person does that make me?" Her voice rose up until she was practically yelling and it was obvious that it was taking every ounce of restraint she had, not to cry.

But as much as he didn't like to see her hurting, he was glad that the conversation had taken this turn, he wasn't any good at talking about his feelings and shit like that, but he did know how to comfort someone and he was damn good at that.

"It doesn't make you a bad person Marie, it just makes you a scared girl, in an impossible situation, who turned to a friend for comfort, nothing more, nothing less."

His arm reached out to her, finally sensing that she wouldn't flinch away if he decided to touch her, he rested his hand on her shoulder and let it trail down her back, as he did his best to calm her trembling body.

Neither spoke for several minutes, her soft sobs slowly subsided, leaving the two of them in the silence of the large empty room.

"Is that what we are?" She finally asked when her voice felt strong enough to form a complete sentence.

"What?"

"Friends," she replied softly, turning to look back at him through the dim light that the smoldering torch provided.

He tried to answer her right away, but his hesitation as all too obvious when he finally responded in a tone that was less than certain, "I dunno, aren't we?"

"Is that _all_ we are Logan?"

His eyes finally met hers and they locked together, brown searching hazel for answers, both wondering what had happened between them during the past few days and both wondering where that would leave them once they finally got home and had to face reality again.

"Not sure, but I know we're no less than that."

"Are we more than that Logan? Am I more than that?"

He continued to stare back at her, his look so intense it sent shivers down her spine. She had so much of him in her head now, so many memories and thoughts, even his heightened sense of smell and hearing had transferred over. But for some reason his feelings for her were blurred and she was unable to make them out clearly. She didn't know if it was because he was trying to hide them from her, or if all the other voices in her head were just drowning out what she needed to hear, but hard as she tried, she just couldn't quite make it out.

He was silent, hesitating to answer and not really knowing what he would say when he finally did. Here he was, stuck in one of these god awful heart to heart chats that he hated so much. It was so much better when they just talked about her fears and he could lend a comforting arm, or lips as the case may be, but this 'Logan-sharing' crap left something to be desired. Besides, now wasn't the time for this talk, not when she was so up in the air about how she felt, the last thing she needed was him confusing her more.

His voice finally came out in a low rumble and he diverted his eyes from hers, "I think that's a conversation better left for another day kid," and with that, he got up and stalked across the room into the darkness that had engulfed it.

**Hope you all enjoyed and please remember to review! (Chapter 16 will be up soon!)**


	16. The Entrance

**A/N: HUGE APOLOGIES! To everyone who's been reading this fic, I get down on my hands and knees and BEG for your forgiveness! I'm SOOOOO sorry for the LONG LONG wait on this chapter! I don't know what happened to me but I got bit with a MONSTROUS bout of writers block the past couple of weeks! (Anyone on the WRFA list can vouch for me begging for anyone who was willing lend a helping hand, hehe -_blushes_-**

**But, I suppose better late than never. I sure hope there are still a few of you out there waiting for an update on this, and if there are, then THANKS so much for hanging in there with me!**

**Special thanks go out to: jjblazer, BlueMorpho and Katt500 (thanks chica!) for all their help in brainstorming this bitch out with me the past 2 weeks! You guys all rock and I won't forget it, if I can ever return the favor, just ask. :o)**

**And to all who have reviewed, THANK YOU SO MUCH! You make my day! Please keep reviewing, you totally feed my muse (well, when it hasn't gone on holiday's like it did this week, anyway. LOL).**

**Rating: PG-13**

**Disclaimer: Yeah right! As if I own anything, X-Men aren't mine, nothing is mine. Please don't sue me. :o)**

**Chapter 16: The Entrance**

When he awoke the following morning she was gone. No trace left to indicate her whereabouts, nothing to indicate a struggle; he hadn't heard or seen anything, which, in being the Wolverine, made the fact that she could go missing a mere impossibility.

How could she possibly have been taken from right under his nose without him knowing about it? How was it possible that she could just simply disappear into thin air with him only a few feet away? It just wasn't feasible.

His hearing and sense of smell was more heightened than anyone he'd ever met, short of a wolf, _nothing_ got past him. Ever. It made no sense and though he'd been sitting alone in the dark for over an hour trying to sort through the minimal facts he seemed to have, he still couldn't make sense of what had happened.

The night before she'd been _right_ there, he glanced across the now very empty room at the spot where she'd slept. They hadn't been cuddled together like the previous nights, but he was still only several feet away, close enough that he was confident he'd still be able to protect her, should the need arise. She'd been snuggled up against the wall, her long slender, denim clad legs pulled up in front of her chest, bare feet rubbing over one another smearing the layer of dirt that covered them in swirled patterns of brown and red. She'd been shivering, he could see her shudder every now and again and had wanted to go to her, wanted to keep her warm, wanted to tell her that everything was gonna be alright, and he wanted to mean it.

But he couldn't.

Not yet. She'd asked him _that_ question the night before and he'd told her it was a conversation better left for another day. But in actuality, maybe it was just a question better left for two different people, people in a different time and place, who weren't _them_, where one wasn't engaged to someone else and the other wasn't a man afraid of admitting the truth.

And he _was_ afraid. He kept telling himself he was doing this for her. He was avoiding the truth to keep from hurting her. But the reality of it was, if he was afraid to admit it to himself, how could he possibly say it out loud?

But who knew if he'd ever get the chance to tell her the truth now? He had no idea where she was, or how she'd gotten there, no idea how long she'd been gone or even if she was still alive. The Wolverine had never been one to admit defeat, but somehow, it was beginning to seem like this time he might not have a choice.

Trapped in a prison made of stone. No way out. Every day solidifying the doubt that anyone would ever find them or that anyone was even looking for them and now he'd probably lost her without getting the chance to tell her the truth.

The real reason he'd come back to the mansion. The real reason he'd come back to her

That he was in love with her.

* * *

Even on their best day a trio of mutants such as these would be easy to spot. But after walking, what appeared to be aimlessly, throughout the desert canyon for days on end, it would appear more than obvious to anyone who was watching, that this particular trio was definitely something out of the ordinary.

In front, an average looking male, early thirties probably, medium build, brown hair, several days worth of stubble and a layer sweat coating a furrowed brow. All normal, right?

Wrong.

Everything about him may have appeared normal at first glance, but upon closer inspection a person would be inclined to ask, "what the hell's up with the strange sunglasses dude?"

And it would be a justified question. No one in their right mind walks around with a rig like that on their face, at least not voluntarily, and definitely _not_ in public.

But ok, so they dismiss the odd pair of Oakley's that the first guy is wearing and continue scanning of the trio, letting their eyes fall next on the only female in the group. She's of average height, slender build, obviously very muscular, can easily handle herself in a fight, flawless milk chocolaty skin, and deep dark eyes.

Again, upon first glance, nothing out of the ordinary here.

Wrong again.

"Hey," they'd have to say, "what the hell's up with the white hair?" Last time they checked that wasn't normal. But once again just chalk it up to some sort of strange "punk" type goth thing and continue on their way.

Finally eyes land on the last of the group. Now they _know_ they're in the presence of something more than ordinary. Blue black skin, unnaturally black hair, yellow eyes, three digits on each hand, strange gate and – wait a minute.

Is that a tail?

All in all, it was an absolute miracle that the three odd looking and oddly dressed mutants hadn't been stopped and questioned since they'd arrived. Wandering around the desert for days on end had most definitely left its mark on the trio. Leaving them with sensitive skin from far too much sun, aching muscles, sore feet, tired eyes and, even though it couldn't be seen physically, a mental drain that had taken its toll on all three. And though they'd been well trained to deal with a situation such as this, they were still only human and their stress and fatigue was beginning to manifest itself in aggression on each other.

"Storm!" Scott's voice echoed angrily across the canyon as he stopped dead in his tracks to glare back at the weather goddess and her dark skinned companion.

"Let it go Scott," she replied coolly, "it's not that big a deal, let's just keep looking alright." She casually brushed off his obvious anger and continued scanning the area for some sign of the entrance to Magneto's elusive base.

"Storm I asked you not to do that," the leader tried again, forcing himself to lower his voice, "it's too obvious, someone will notice it."

"Scott!" she shot back sharply, "let – it – go."

With a scowl Cyclops turned his attention away from the white haired woman before him and locked his view on the glowing yellow eyes of the Nightcrawler trailing behind them. As if he hadn't stood out in a crowd enough as it was, now trailing along after them through the desert with a small localized storm cloud above his head, was the icing on the cake.

Kurt had been complaining for several hours about the scorching heat and blazing sun that was wreaking havoc on all of their skin. Finally Strom had relented, forming a small grey rain cloud only eight or so feet above the ground, she'd kept a tight leash on it, allowing it to follow their movements, sprinkling just the right amount of rain to keep him cool as they searched.

It was handy. Even Scott had to admit that much. But they may as well have sent out engraved invitations or hired one of those airplanes to fly over, leaving a trail of smoke behind, spelling out, 'Hey everybody - Look here! - Three mutants just right for the taking - Come attack us!'

There wasn't a cloud in the sky, not for miles and that fact made Storm's little personal rain shower for her boyfriend all the more annoying to the groups' leader. He'd had enough. It was time to do something about it.

Scott turned quickly on his heel, planting his black leather boots firmly in the sand and placing his finger steadily over the trigger on his visor, "Storm," he spat, "get rid of it. Now."

She quickly turned, her long silver cape flowing out behind her as she saw Scott, now with his gaze locked firmly on Kurt, his finger hovering dangerously close to the fire button and knowing he meant to use it. He'd been so angry the past few days, her friend was gone, he didn't live inside this angry man that stood before. He'd been slipping further and further over the edge everyday and now with his deadly vision glued on one of his own, she knew this was no time to argue him.

The slight milky color in her eyes slowly deepened and as her concentration grew the normal darkness of her eyes was completely concealed behind a sea of white. With her head cocked slightly to the side, she stared across at her teammate, her friend. Just as deadly, just as tired and just as prepared to do whatever she had to do to stop him.

"Scott don't do this," she stated firmly, "this is crazy."

"Storm you're gonna get us spotted, just get rid of the god damn cloud and this is finished."

"No," she replied stubbornly.

The small grey cloud slowly began to increase in size until it easily covered all three of them and its once calm and soothing shower of rain drops was quickly replaced by the clapping of thunder and the odd flash of lightning.

Kurt simply stood there, obviously worried about the conflict he'd unintentionally started, but not sure what to do now that he had two extremely powerful mutants pointing their angriest powers directly at him. If he simply BAMF'd out of the way, would Storm bear the brunt of Scott's powerful optic blast should he be startled by Kurt's sudden disappearance? A moments contemplation told him he was better off to just stay put and wait for this to play out, if need be he could always make a last second attempt to BAMF out of the way.

As yellow eyes darted back and forth between the two teammates watching him, Kurt stood dead still just waiting for one of them to make the first move.

"Don't make me do this Storm," Scott stated simply, his voice calmer and much more controlled now, but his finger still held firmly over the trigger on his visor.

"No one's _making_ you do anything Scott, you're tired and worried and I know that deep down you _know_ this is completely ridiculous, now _please_ just let it go and we can keep looking for Logan and Rogue."

For a moment it seemed as though her words may have been getting through to her distraught friend, his features seemed to ease up a bit. But the instant the name 'Logan' left her lips the harshness was back, the intense scowl that had consumed him for days returned to its usual place in his brow and around his mouth and his finger twitched over the trigger.

Storms instincts took over and though she'd never intentionally hurt Scott, or any of her teammates for that matter, she wasn't sure how far over the edge he was now and what that would make him capable of.

In an instant, before his finger had a chance to reach the tiny button that would release more fire power than even she was capable of handling, her features hardened and several bright white bolts of lightening streaked out of the tiny storm cloud attacking the ground around Scott's feet. He quickly jumped back, startled at the sudden attack on him, but his finger still held firm, prepared to fire if she forced him to.

Several more bolts of lightning shot out of the cloud, larger and more erratic than the first, they struck the ground with such force that the earth trembled under them. Kurt stumbled back, trying desperately to catch his footing without further angering Cyclops, but Storm stood firm letting her power create more and more bolts of electricity that shook the ground.

The air crackled with energy as strike after strike of pure electricity shocked the canyon, small avalanches of rock and sand tumbled down the walls leaving piles of red clay scattered around them.

Finally after several moments of rumbling thunder and blinding lightning strikes, Scotts hand lowered leaving the trigger on his visor untouched. But before Storm noticed his surrender she'd let one last bout of powerful flashes go, releasing them across the canyon towards the towering walls that surrounded them. And in one commanding crash, rock and dirt spewed around them enveloping the trio in a cloud of red dust.

The snaps and crackles of electricity should have ceased the moment Storm leashed her power and the small grey cloud dissipated above them, but it didn't. Storm, Cyclops and Nightcrawler simply stood in amazement as the cloud of dust cleared revealing a wall of electrical energy crackling in front of them. Where the wall of the canyon had once stood there now appeared to be some sort of force field and although it appeared to be damaged by Storms powerful strike, the glowing blue beams of light continued struggling to regain their power.

In between the jolts of electricity that flashed across the area a picture could be seen, not only a picture, but a _hologram_. The image struggled to resume its illusion of a solid canyon wall but the damage it had sustained appeared to have short circuited something and the hologram was quickly fading away revealing an opening in the wall behind it.

An entrance to a cave.

"Oh my god," Storm breathed in a bare whisper, hardly heard above the loud crackle of electricity surrounding them.

"Damn it!" Scott spat, "it's been right in front of us the entire time!" His hands clenched into hard fists as his frown deepened.

"Wait!" Storm stepped forward, quickly grabbing her friends arm when he approached the field of energy. "We've obviously short circuited it somehow, but it's still flowing with electricity, look around, there must be a control panel or something powering it, we have to shut it down."

* * *

"Please don't do this," Rogue begged as Magneto forced her into the cold metal chair at the centre of his giant mutant power sucking machine. The old man simply smirked at her and continued fastening the shackles on her wrists and ankles.

"You're killing them," she whimpered again as Mystique slid a defeated Jubilee's cage across the floor toward her own steel chair, "they won't survive much more of this."

Magneto's eyes flashed upon her, his mouth set in a firm scowl of concentration as he replied, his voice void of any compassion or concern, "I'm quite certain they won't my dear, but it matters little to me, I nearly have what I want." He paused a moment as the final lock snapped shut on her left wrist, then his gaze rose up to meet hers once more.

"Impressive wasn't it?" he asked letting a slight smile of satisfaction cross his lips, "I've never experienced teleportation before; stealing the Wolverine's most prized possession right from under his nose was actually a rather invigorating experience if you ask me."

"I've done it before," Rogue scowled back, her glare shooting daggers right through him, "besides, it's not like it means you're so great or anything, they're all stolen powers." The anger in her voice grew with hate the more she spoke, "you're just a regular mutant like the rest of us _Eric,_" she spat his name at him, "there's nothing special about you other than the fact that you feel the need to threaten others to make yourself feel superior! You're nothing more than a schoolyard bully in pensioners clothing!"

She smirked proudly up at him, pleased with herself for finally standing up to this man who, time and time again had tried to intimidate her. Pleased with her sudden boldness she decided to get in one final blow, "and he _will _kill you y'know, you'd do well to let us go before he puts an adamantium claw through yer gut."

Though she felt good about finally having the courage to stand up to him, her win wouldn't last long. As the last syllable left her lips, his angry hand came down on her, landing firmly on the side of her cheek and slamming her head hard back against the cold steel backrest.

"Shut up!" he spat angrily, "_I_ am more powerful that you could _ever_ imagine being little girl. I'd advise you to keep your mouth shut if you don't want to see what I'm _really_ capable of now that I've absorbed all of your powers. That boys' teleportation ability will be the _least_ of your worries compared to what I've taken from my young apprentice Pyro and that little yellow friend of yours. Believe me my dear," he paused looking down at her and cupping her chin in his gloved palm, "you do _not_ wish to know what I am capable of now, so you'd do well to keep that pretty mouth of yours shut and I'll return you to your _Wolverine_ soon enough."

With that, he turned and strode confidently down the steps away from her.

* * *

"There's nothing here Storm!" Scott shouted angrily as his fists slammed furiously into the rock wall next to him. "We've searched this place over and over, there is no control panel, no _magical_ way in, I'm finished looking Storm, I'm goin' in."

The white haired woman turned to see him heading toward the crackling field of electricity that covered the opening in the wall. He was right, they'd been searching for nearly an hour since they'd accidentally stumbled across the holographic wall hiding the entrance to what they could only assume was Magneto's base, and they'd found nothing. Barely able to get close enough to get a look beyond the glowing blue electrical beams their efforts had been futile.

"Scott wait!' Storm shouted as he stepped closer obviously prepared to try just walking through it, seeing as nothing else had seemed to work. "You can't! It'll kill you in an instant!"

"You don't know that Storm," he replied, now almost shouting over the crackle of electricity so close to him, "it could just be another hologram, I might be able to just walk right through it to the other side."

"Yes, maybe," she said softly, "_or_ it could electrocute you on contact and not only will we be missing Logan and Rogue but we'll have to bury _you_ as well." She sighed heavily letting her voice soften with her final words, "please, just give us more time, there _has_ to be another way in."

Cyclops stopped only a foot or two away from the sizzling wall of energy, his head dropped in defeat as he turned to face her and Kurt who had been quietly watching their confrontation.

"I'm tired of waiting Storm," he mumbled, not moving from his spot next to the entrance, "I'm tired of worrying, I'm tired of wondering," heaving a deep heavy sigh he finished softly, "I need to know."

His words had betrayed him. He always tried so hard to portray the fearless leader of the group, someone who was strong and infallible, someone who could take anything or anyone head on and always come out the victor. But his words now told them all that he was really none of those things, he was simply a man and he'd reached his limit.

They needed to find a way in and they needed to do it _now_. Storm knew it, Scott knew it and apparently Kurt knew it too.

_BAMF!_

Scott and Storm both jerked up to look at the spot where Kurt had stood only moments before, the spot now empty and the only sign that he had ever been there was a dissipating cloud of blue smoke.

"Kurt!" Storm shouted. But before she even had a chance to look around and see where he'd gone her attention was grabbed by something else.

"Storm look," Scott gasped as the two turned their attention to the once deadly wall of electrical energy that was now dissipating rather rapidly behind them. The electric blue bursts of light slowly lessened, their intense, almost blinding glow, growing dimmer and dimmer with each second, until the crackling stopped completely and they had a clear view straight into the cave hidden behind it.

"Kurt, what did you do?" Scott asked as he was finally able to get a clear view of the blue skinned mutant hunched over inside the cave.

He offered no response, simply turned glowing yellow eyes on the small control panel located on the wall closest to him inside the dark cave entrance. Its bright red lights flickered with indecision as small white sparks shot erratically out of the now gaping cracks and holes Kurt had smashed into it.

With a small grin the teleport simply turned and headed down the only passage leading deep into the heart of the canyon. Storm and Scott exchanged surprised glances at the executive decision making skills demonstrated by their usually docile and unobtrusive teammate. Then with a shrug, dismissed the oddity of it and quickly entered the cave, following after him.

**Hope you all enjoyed! Please remember to review. :o)**


	17. Blue Smoke

**A/N: Once again, HUGE APOLOGIES! To everyone who's been reading this fic. I can make excuses all day long until the cows come home and I know it won't make it up to any of you faithful readers who've been waiting for this. I won't try to blame it on writers block this time (although that's got a lot to do with it, hehe), all I can say is this… I suck royally at any kind of action sequences! Unfortunately I didn't know this when I decided to start on this fic, hmmm.. note to self I think, LOL! **

**Anyway, I wanted to do this whole big rescue scene where the X-Geeks run in and save the day, blah blah blah, but unfortunately it doesn't look like that's gonna happen for me here. It's just not in my make up to be able to write a riveting action sequence! Grrr… (makes a note that that's something to work on in the future).**

**So anyway, the long and short of it is, I've been putting this off 'cause I didn't want to copout on this, but now it's been forever since I've updated and it's getting ridiculous! Time to get back on the horse and finish this bitch! LOL. So I've opted for the mushy way out, stick with what I know so to speak, and besides, we're all Logan/Rogue fans here right? So who wants to see fighting and shit like that anyway? We want some lovin' right? Heh!**

**SO, without further ado, I give you chapter 17, which BTW, I warn you is kinda short compared to all my others, but I hope you like it just the same.**

**And you can all thank "Mrs. Skywalker" for kicking my ass and inspiring me to get going on this again! Sometimes a little guilt trip is all a gal needs to get the lead out (or the adamantium, as the case may be! LOL) so thanks a HEAP Mrs. S! I owe you big time!**

**Thanks again to all who have reviewed, THANK YOU SO MUCH! You make my day! Please keep reviewing, you totally make my day!**

**Rating: PG-13 (some coarse language)**

**Disclaimer: Yeah right! As if I own anything, X-Men aren't mine, nothing is mine. Please don't sue me. :o)**

**Chapter 17: Blue Smoke**

"What the fuck?" Logan's eyes shot up towards the door at the bare audible shuffling coming from the other side.

It had been dead quiet in the cell ever since he'd woken up alone that morning, he hadn't even been brought the meager tray of scrap food as he'd expected. The small torch still hung near the doorframe, its tiny ember barely smoldering and nearly ready to put itself out completely, leaving the large room cloaked in a darkness the Wolverine had become accustomed to over the past week.

He sprang to his feet at the sudden intrusion on his sensitive hearing and stalked closer to the door, listening intently, his heightened senses at their peak, struggling to make out the scuffle of strange noises coming from the hall. It wasn't Magneto, he knew that much for sure. The old man had come and gone from the cell enough times in the past days for Logan to recognize his footsteps in an instant. No, this sound was different. It actually sounded like _several_ sets of feet.

_**SNIKT!**_

Six adamantium blades now laced his knuckles, hands clenched into rock solid fists, brow furrowed into and intense scowl and every muscle in his body tensed and ready for a fight. Logan stepped silently closer to the door, pressing his back tight up against the rocky wall next to it. Whoever dared to enter would never know what hit them. A quick blade to the gut and maybe an adamantium fist to the jaw and he'd be free.

"Just try it bub," he murmured quietly, waiting for the mystery guest to make their appearance.

But the shuffling suddenly stopped. Logan stiffened, listening carefully for anymore movement. Had they left? His nose twitched wildly, desperately trying to catch a scent.

"What the hell?" he mumbled softly, then took another sniff at the air to confirm him suspicions, "One Eye?"

The whisper of words had barely left his lips when – **_BAMF!_**

Glowing yellow eyes suddenly flickered in the darkness, as the large cloud of dark blue smoke slowly filtered away from the two mutants now standing in the blackened room. A small smirk appeared on Kurt's lips at the sight of his missing teammate and allowing Logan's keen vision to barely pick up on the glimmer of a mouth lined with sharp white teeth.

"Well it's about fuckin' time you guys showed up," he growled.

Kurt's smile instantly faded at the snide remark.

"Well?" Logan scowled down at the blue mutant in front of him, "you gonna get me outta here or what?"

Just the _thought_ of embracing the mighty _Wolverine _was enough to make him tremble as he stared up at the bulk of a man towering over him.

"I – uh…"

"I ain't gonna bite'cha kid," Logan smirked taking a step closer to the frozen teleport.

A deep breath in and Kurt slipped his arms around Logan's waist and the two instantly disappeared into a cloud of blue smoke, only to reappear a moment later on the opposite side of the door.

The two had barely materialized out in the hall and the thick bluish smoke around them had scarcely cleared when Scott spat, "where the hell's Rogue?" His forehead once again crinkled down into the scowl that had resided there for the past several days. "I told you to get Rogue _first_!" he snarled again, fisting the front of Kurt's shirt in his hand and slamming him forcefully up against the wall.

"She vas not zhere," Kurt choked, struggling to regain his footing from where Scott held him firmly against the rock.

"Scott!" Storm shouted, grabbing the back of her fellow X-Men's uniform in a vain attempt to pull him away.

He merely glared over his shoulder, before quickly returning his ruby tinted stare back on the man before him, "where the _hell _is she Kurt?"

"She's not in there," Logan growled, quickly darting an arm out to grab Scott by the front of his uniform and hauling him off of his teammate. "She's gone."

Struggling to free himself from the steel-like grasp now holding him in place, Scott frowned miserably up at the man towering before him. No shirt, chest covered in almost a weeks worth of dirt and dust, his usually perfectly spiked hair, now disheveled and caked with filth, jeans soiled with red clay, and bare feet. It was the worst any of them had ever seen the mighty Wolverine look, making it blatantly obvious that whatever had conspired over the past several days, hadn't been good.

Scott continued to fight the iron grip on him until finally Logan released his hold, dropping the younger man to the floor.

"Where the hell is she Logan!" Scott grunted, pulling the front of his uniform back into place with a sharp jerk of his wrist, "what the hell is that bastard doing to her? Why'd you let them take her!"

Logan dismissed Scott's anger shoving quickly past and him stalking down the hall, "not like I had much of a choice Scooter," he mumbled as the other three mutants followed close behind him, "unfortunately the man with the metal skeleton doesn't stand much of a chance against a man with the ability to manipulate metal any way he chooses."

Without missing a beat Logan continued down the dimly lit hall, Rogue's scent still lingered heavily in the tunnels making the search much simpler than it should be for any 'normal' person. Storm, Kurt and a reluctant Scott followed silently behind, alert and on the lookout of any of Magneto's guards, should they run into any along the way.

"I'm comin' darlin'," Logan muttered softly under his breath, her scent growing stronger with each step.

* * *

She struggled to lift her head from where her chin had fallen to her chest so long ago. Long dark locks of tangled hair tussled about over her shoulders, the once brilliant white streaks now barely noticeable against the rest. Her young and beautiful features had begun to grow dark, tired, and angry. How much was one person supposed to endure in a lifetime?

Unsure how long he'd had her shackled into that machine, exhaustion was getting the better of her making just the simple task of looking around the room a sheer impossibility.

But something was suddenly different now, something had changed. In only the past few minutes she could feel it. Deep with in her, like a nagging voice in her mind.

Rogue's head ached from lack of sleep, dehydration, the beginnings of what would soon be a severe case of malnutrition and all the hours she'd been forced to endure in Magneto's machine. But she forced herself to hold up just the same, unable to shake this odd sensation flowing through her – almost – _in_ her.

Trying desperately to shut out Jubilee's tired cries, the whimpering of the young boy in the chair across from her and the hushed conversations from the opposite end of the room where her three captors stood, she focused on the sensation. Blocking out everything else, finding her state of calm, her peace. Channeling what little energy she had left in an attempt to –

"Logan?"

It was only a mere breath, no one heard it. But to her, everything was suddenly so clear.

Straightening up in the cold metal seat Rogue's arms stiffened in the shackles that bound them, hands clenched into fists and the look of sheer exhaustion melted from her face, "he's coming for you." she stated simply, her voice much stronger than it had been in days.

The three mutants immediately turned at her comment, each scanning the room quickly for intruders just in case her words were true. Down each wall, across the open expanse of metal and rock, into every doorway, over every crevice and sweeping over the enormous machine at the centre.

But they found nothing. The girl was delusional.

"I'm afraid not my dear," Magneto scoffed, striding overconfidently across the room towards her. This base is well hidden, and your Wolverine will never escape the prison I've built for him, you'll be here for as long as I want you here."

As he finished and his words trailed off to silence, a large gloved hand came up to cup her jaw, squeezing it firmly and yanking her head up until she was looking him in the eye.

"You're mine."

Rogue merely scowled back at him, suddenly feeling no intimidation from this man who at one time had been able to make her tremble in fear.

"He's coming for you," she repeated again, only this time, her voice slightly firmer. Eyes narrowing and brow furrowed with sudden anger, she locked her eyes with his making sure he knew she was serious.

The old man said nothing, simply stood there staring back at her, inspecting her intense gaze, trying to read her, most likely. But she gave nothing away that she didn't want him to know. Logan had given her _that_ talent long ago. No one need know anything she didn't want them to.

"He's coming for you _now."_

Another simply stated sentence from her, the same as before, but at the same time so_ completely_ different. The voice that had been shaky and wavering earlier that morning was now strong and determined. Brave and unbreakable.

Where this sudden confidence and strength had come from – only _she _knew for sure.

"Mystique!" Magneto spun on his heel at her final declaration, suddenly aware of the fact that her threats may not be as empty as he'd initially assumed. A gloved fist shot out in the direction of the controls and the monstrous machine roared to life, causing the entire room to rumble and shudder intensely.

Rogue watched from her seat at the centre as Pyro and Mystique raced across the room to their respective stations and locked themselves in. And only moments later she found herself once again face to face with the old man and fearing what he was to do next. They'd been through this enough times before that she knew what was coming.

Blackness., unconsciousness, she'd be forced once again to absorb all these powers that were not her own, only to have this _machine_ reverse the effect, in turn giving all that power to Magneto and eventually – she _would _die.

His large gloved hand raised high in the air and the slight apologetic, almost remorseful look that had once been seen in his features vanished, and the blow was delivered, sending Rogue's head slamming harshly into the hard metal backrest.

For a moment the room spun wildly out of control. Blurred colors, greys, blacks, whites, once brilliant chromes now all muted and dead looking to her. The ceiling twirled and circled down on her, almost as though the room itself were caving in, growing smaller and smaller with each moment.

The feeling was too much. Nausea and a dizzying blur of images she couldn't make out. It would be easier to just close her eyes and let the dark take her, give Magneto what he wanted, let him use her like some _lab rat_ once again. At least the motion would stop, she could rest.

Heavy eyes slowly began to drift closed, too tired from exhaustion and her mind jarred and aching from the blow to her head, she _would_ give up now.

"Rogue!" a voice echoed throughout the large room.

_-Who's voice is that?_-

The thought echoed almost deafeningly loud inside her head. There were images of someone dressed all in black running towards her, followed by bright red blast of light and the loud crashing of rocks. – Yelling, she thought she heard yelling, shouts of anger she thought, but couldn't be sure. Was that German? It felt like arms wrapping around her? Who was there? It was all too much, too fast, nothing was registering properly, her poor battered mind couldn't decipher, couldn't –

Everything suddenly went black – or was it – _Blue?_

**Ok everyone, that was it, Chapter 17 and I know I know, total copout right? You can say it, it's ok. But I promise that the next one will be better. No more action for me, it's all about the lovin' from here on out! Hehe!**

**Oh yeah, and please remember to review! Thanks!**


	18. Rescued

**Hello all! Long time no see. I know it's been forever since I updated this, in fact it's been forever since I even came onto this site. But I recently decided that it was high time I finished this thing off, so I'm going to give it my best effort to do so.**

**I hope you all enjoy it.**

**Chapter 18 – Rescued **

Grabbing the old man from where he'd collapsed in the harsh metal chair, Logan picked him up with ease, throwing him across the room and Magneto landed with a resounding 'crack'. This man had hurt too many by this point, Logan would be damned if he let him get off so easily this time. Charles would surely protest but he wasn't here to argue so this time the Wolverine would get to play judge and jury to this mans crimes.

He stalked across the enormous metal sheeted room and his focus, now that he knew Rogue was safe with Kurt, was only on one thing, Magneto. Easily ignoring the Scotts blinding blasts of red light, the deafening crash of rock and metal and the ear piercing howl of Storms wind and rain that now filled the room, Logan closed the gap. The old man lay motionless on the ground, dirt and debris raining down around them as the one sided battle raged on. The other X-Men seemed to be making easy work of Mystique and Pyro in their weakened states, fighting back briefly they'd quickly realized that there was no way they could win this time. Their mentor, their leader, their _father _of sorts, had lead them to defeat and left them no way to defend themselves. He'd taken all their powers for himself and even at that it seemed he would be defeated just as easily as they.

Lying on the cold hard floor Magneto cracked open an eye, a large black pupil focusing solely on the huge, hairy, filthy man striding towards him. He couldn't move. His legs and most likely several vertebrae were broken leaving him helpless and at the mercy of the mighty Wolverine. This was _not_ a good place for anyone to be, especially when you were the man, who at the moment, the Wolverine had it in for. He struggled to raise one hand, a sign of surrender on his part.

Logan stopped just short of the old man lying broken in front of him. Crouching low he leaned over so his face was close enough to Magneto's that he could whisper and be easily heard, "I warned you old man."

Magneto's eyes shifted down, looking away from Logan as if he could no longer bear to gaze into the eyes of one he'd hurt so terribly. It was a very human reaction but somehow, extremely uncharacteristic for him. The two sat silent for several moments, the fog of dust beginning to settle in the room as Scott and Storm secured and unconscious Pyro and Mystique inside the newly vacant cages where Jubilee and the boy had once been.

Logan looked back to the old man who still lay motionless on the ground, one hand raised in surrender, his chest rising and falling in great heaves as he struggled to breathe. "What.. will you do.. with me?" the words were coughed out painfully.

His eyes becoming mere slits, Logan lifted one hand so the older man could see, three gleaming adamantium blades shot straight out from between his knuckles, the tips of each mere millimeters from Magneto's face. "What'da you think?" Logan grinned evilly, his white teeth a contrast to his dark dirty face.

"I…I" it was stuttered and fearful.

Logan's fist moved forward letting one razor sharp blade scrape across Magneto's cheekbone and down over his jaw line, "maybe you'd like to see what it feels like to have a piece of adamantium slice through your skin and scrape along your bone, cut through a few nerves, tendons, whatever it happens to hit on the way in. Hmmm?" One eyebrow quirked up and he leaned down even closer to him, his voice barely a whisper, "what'da'ya say old man? Wanna find out what it's like to be me?"

Magneto stared up at him, eyes wide with fear as he watched the animal above him. He'd known the Wolverine to be powerful and animalistic, but the man before him now appeared just downright evil, merciless and cold. If it had been anyone else in his place they would have been trembling in their boots, but the old man still had tricks up his sleeve despite the obvious fear in his eyes. He'd be damned if he went down this easily, or at least not without a good fight!

Logan continued to hover over the silver haired man, part of him enjoying seeing him this way, all broken and helpless while another part almost feeling sorry for him and trying to decide what they should do with him now. It seemed almost cruel to kill an unarmed, helpless man this way, plus, surely Xavier would have plenty of lectures when they returned to the mansion about how _X-Men don't kill people_ blah blah blah.

Still squatting, Logan was caught off guard, his claws still pressed to Magnetos cheek were slowing beginning to spread! And by the time he realized what was happening it was too late, pain shot through his fingers and up his arm as the adamantium was slowly peeled away from his bone.

An evil grin spread across the old mans face as he lay helpless on the ground in front of Logan, or so he appeared to be helpless. He still lay unmoving, both legs bent in unnatural, broken positions, but his one arm still raised out in front of him. Fingers clenching together then flying quickly open, Logan went hurtling across the room. Storm and Scott barely had time to realize what had happened, let alone react to it. Before anyone could do anything they mighty Wolverine was being tossed about like a rag doll once again, it seemed that even broken and dying Magneto would always be able to win against him, was there nothing he could do?

The other X-Men, now joined by Jubilee and the boy watched as Logan was hurled up towards the ceiling of the enormous structure where a large ventilation fan whirled and hummed.

"Logan!" Storm shrieked when she saw what was about to happen.

"Shit!" Scott's hand flew up to his visor and he immediately looked for the good shot to try and take out the fan before Logan was turned into mulch.

Jubilee tried to use her powers to stop Magneto but she was too weak and drained to do anything.

Magneto lay still, though his lips still curled into a satisfied grin, knowing that even if he died here today, he would still have won this one against those wretched X-Men. Charles and his pitiful band of mutants, trying to save the world, it was a fruitless battle and he'd known it all along. If only Charles had been able to…

_**CRASH**_

The sound startled all of them, even Scott who was about to take his shot at the ventilation fan jumped and turned to see what had happened.

"Oh god." Storms hand went up to her mouth and she looked as though she could cry at what she saw.

In the spot where Magneto had lay, sat the large control panel for his monstrosity of a machine, smoke billowed out of it from all sides and some of the panels which had popped open sparked and crackled with electricity. Magneto's hand which had been held out towards Logan now lay motionless on the ground, now the only part of his body that could be seen through the smoke, debris and smashed machinery.

Storm gasped at the sight then quickly turned her attention back to Logan who was now hurtling through the air towards them at breakneck speeds, "Logan!"

Now that Magneto wasn't there to hold him anymore he had no other choice than to let gravity win and was getting very close to becoming a Logan pancake.

Storms eyes immediately clouded over, her hand rising up she attempted to conjure a cloud or a tornado or something that could hopefully slow her falling teammate. But she was too late. Before any of them knew what was happening, Logan screeched to a halt in mid air, hovering awkwardly in the air approximately ten feet above the ground. His chest heaved as his breaths came in strangled pants and his arms and legs flailed in a vain attempt to get himself down.

"What was that?" Scott asked, looking around the room to see what on earth had stopped Logan from plummeting to his death as well as what had single handedly managed to kill Magneto when the entire X-Men team hadn't been able to in years.

"I don't know," Storm made her way carefully around the room, avoiding all the fallen debris and sparking equipment that was now strewn about.

Everything looked the same, no one else was there, not that they could see anyway. Mystique and Pyro were still out cold in their cages, Jubilee and the boy were both far to weak to have done anything, Magneto was dead, Kurt and Rogue had Bamf'd to safety. That pretty much left no one.

Continuing their search of the room, Logan still hanging in mid air unable to help himself in any way, Scott suddenly stopped in front of the one cage they hadn't opened. It's long black cover still completely covered it billowing out to the sides when Scott walked past. Crouching down next to it, his finger hovering just over the trigger on his visor just in case, he reached out grabbing the heavy black fabric and pulled it back.

His jaw dropped and a small gasp escaped his lips as Scott let the cloth cover fall from his fingers to the floor and he finally got a good look at what was inside. Or _who_ was inside. "Jean?" His heart pounded, voice coming as a mere whisper and hands trembling as he tried frantically to open the cage so he could get to her. It was in fact Jean, _his_ Jean, the love of his life that had been stolen from him far too soon. His finger twitched over his visor trigger, he'd get her out of there no matter what it took.

"Scott no!" Storm yelled, knowing exactly what he was about to do, "we'll find another way, you could kill her like that." Running over to join her friend, she slid to a stop next to him, one slender hand resting gently over his, urging him to lower it.

Jean lay in the bottom of the cage dressed in nothing but a black tank top and a pair of black shorts. She appeared to be unconscious, not moving but still breathing. She was definitely alive, and seemed to be ok physically, though her hair was long and tangled, her finger nails overgrown but chipped and bleeding. She was covered in filth and grime and had definitely lost some weight, she looked emaciated almost, but she was alive and was the only explanation for what had happened to, or was currently happening to, Logan.

Jubilee appeared next to Storm with a small piece of metal clutched in her small hand that looked like it would be perfect for picking the lock to the cage. Much safer than letting Scott blast it open and risk killing Jean or anyone else in the room.

"Jean?" Storm spoke softly to her friend, trying to wake her, to let her know that she was ok now… and to also see about getting her to put Logan down. He seemed to be getting a little annoyed at being hung like a Christmas tree decoration against his will. Though, it was preferable to becoming a pancake on the floor of this cave.

"Jean? Can you hear me?" Strom urged again, "Jean we're all here, you're safe now, we're gonna get you home ok?"

The moment the word "home" left Storms lips, the invisible force holding Logan's heavy body was released and he landed on the floor with a resounding thud! Groaning, he pushed himself up off the ground, grumbling under his breath about being mistreated and something else about getting hazard pay for this.

Alrighty then, so that was chapter 18. The LONG awaited chapter 18!

I know I've been MIA for the last year or so, but I've recently started a new job working up north in a camp and now have nothing to do in my spare time. So I've decided that it's time to finally finish this fic. Though I haven't written anything in years so it's quite possible that my writing abilites have completely left me.

Feel free to review, I'd love to know what you think and if you still like this story (if anyone is still reading it that is).

Thanks again for all the reviews and I only hope I can live up to them and put out an ending that you'll all love.


	19. In The End

**Hello again everyone. Well this is it. The last chapter. It's been a LONG time coming and it's finally here. I really hope you enjoy it.**

**Take care and thanks for reading!**

Chapter 19 – In the end

It was dark throughout the Xavier mansion, nearly three o'clock in the morning its inhabitants were sound asleep, finally able to enjoy the first real _restful_ sleep they'd been allowed in ages. Their missing family members had been returned to them late the evening before and after many tears hugs and questions the house of mutants had all gone to bed, each of them hoping for a nice restful sleep they'd been denied while their teammates had been gone.

A small sliver of light leaked out into the hall, Rogues bedroom door slightly ajar as she sat on her bed, blue satin pajamas covering her pale skin. With her knees bent up in front of her, arms hugged tightly around them and chin resting in the little V at the peak, she resembled a small child afraid of the monster under the bed. Eyes large and brown, blinking every so often, fighting off the urge to sleep, to dream, to remember. She began to rock silently, slowly back and forth, trying to comfort herself, convince herself that she was safe now and Magneto could no longer hurt or manipulate her.

Eyes darting up, a small creak shivered through the silence as her bedroom door opened and one large booted foot stepped into the room. Leaning against the doorframe Logan eyed her carefully.

"Yer up late," arms folding across his broad chest.

"Mmm," mumbling, her nose burying itself back into the silkiness of her pajamas.

Shrugging a shoulder Logan pushed himself away from the door and stepped into the room. Watching her carefully, very aware of the fact that those large doe eyes had shifted towards him the moment he moved and were now watching him intently, he settled on the end of the bed.

Rogue said nothing, just sat there still, eyeing him up and down, waiting to see what he would do next. She wasn't afraid of him, never had been, but after all that had happened the last few days she didn't know what to expect from him. They'd come so close to being lovers, so close to giving her everything she'd ever wanted from him and at the same time, so close to destroying everything she'd worked so hard for since he'd left. She wasn't afraid of him, no. She was afraid of what he stood for and she was afraid of what she became when he was around. But most of all, she was afraid of how unknown everything was when she was with him.

What about Scott? Well, she didn't need to worry about him anymore. Unaware of the events that conspired after Kurt had bamf'd her out of the room back at Magneto's lair, she'd not known that her life was about to change drastically, that the man she loved, or at least _thought_ she loved, was in the midst of rescuing his one and only _true_ love. Back at the Blackbird later that day, Rogue was shocked to see Scott carrying an unconscious Jean aboard. He hadn't even seemed to notice her curled up in one of the middle seats, a large fluffy blanket wrapped around her as she watched the man she was supposed to marry hovering over the woman who'd held his heart for so many years. Pulling the blanket up around her nose so she could just barely peek over the top, she'd watched Scott tend to Jean. Watched as he checked her over for injuries, as he wrapped her lovingly in a blanket identical to the one she herself was in, and tried not to cry when he'd picked her up in his strong arms and carried her back to one of the benches where he could hold her more easily as Storm readied the jet.

"How y'feelin'" Logan's words broke her train of thought.

"Fine," mumbled, eyes turning down towards the bed.

"Uh huh," unconvinced Logan shifted on the bed, closing the gap between them, one long arm wrapping around her shoulders. "I'm sorry Marie."

His words were soft and heartfelt but also pained. He had failed her, failed to keep her safe as he'd so often promised and she could hear the regret in his voice.

Letting her eyes flick up to meet his a gentle sigh slipped past her lips, "it's not your fault Logan."

Almost surprised that she had even spoken Logan met her gaze but said nothing.

"There wasn't anything you could've done," a forced smile, "he would've gotten to me anyway."

That thought broke his heart. He hated to think that there wasn't ever anything he could've done to save her. Couldn't stand the thought that he would never be able to protect her, to keep her safe, and if he couldn't do something as simple as that, then how could he ever make her happy?

This time her smile was genuine as one small hand reached up to stroke his stubbly jaw. "Don't think things like that Logan, you've always protected me, always kept me safe and…" she hesitated, "and my smile is always brightest when you're around."

His eyebrows folded together, a small crinkle forming between them as he tried to figure out how she'd known what he was thinking.

Tapping her temple with one slim finger her smile began to fade. Both sets of eyes slipped down to the bed, neither able to meet the others gaze in that moment.

They sat that way for several moments before Logan finally looked up, one large hand reaching out, his thick fingers slipping up into her long dark locks, one digit twirling around the stark white streak, a constant reminder of the first time he'd been unable to protect her from Magneto. '_I kinda like it' _her youthful voice from all those years ago resonated in his mind and he wondered, "do you still like it Marie?"

Her eyes slid over to the side so she could look at his fingers tangled in her snow white hair. Thinking for a moment, "I do."

"Why?" he wondered, rubbing the silken threads between two fingers.

Shrugging, "it's a reminder."

"Of?"

Minutes ticked by and the two just sat in silence, him stroking her hair and her just looking up at him through dark eyelashes as if trying to decide how to answer his question.

"Of?" Logan asked again.

"Of the fact that there was once someone out there who loved me so much, he was willing to die to save me," her words were soft and mumbled and her eyes sank to the bed refusing to once again meet his intense stare.

His voice came low and husky, "_once_?"

Her dark, now tear filled eyes finally lifted to meet his and she confirmed, "once."

Letting go of the soft hairs that he'd been twirling about, his large calloused fingers began stroking her cheek, "no Marie, not _once_," his words breathy and heated.

Sniffling softly, a few tears streaked down her cheek, "yes Logan, once." Wiping her eyes, "my family didn't want me once they knew, the people here at the mansion care, but they don't _love_ me, not like that. And Scott," pausing, her voice catching in her throat, "he'll go back to Jean now."

Her tears came more freely and Logan's heart wrenched. Curling his arm around her a little more, he tugged her small frame into his larger one, wrapping her in his warmth and just hoping that she'd be able to feel all the love he had for her. Stroking her back with two strong hands Logan comforted her as best he could. Rubbing and massaging her back, his strong fingers kneading her tense muscles urging her to relax and she finally began to melt into his embrace. Her tear soaked cheeks rubbed softly against his chest as he held her, his lips pressed into the top of her head murmuring barely audible nothings in an attempt to soothe her broken heart. He was just glad to hold her.

"Logan?" her words were mumbled against his chest.

"Hmm?" rocking her from side to side and hugging her a little tighter.

"Why did you come back?

She'd asked him this question many times in the last week and he'd always given her the truthful answers he'd felt at the time. But for some reason, this time felt different. Always he'd known the real reason he'd returned, but never had it seemed the right time or situation for him to explain it to her, so he hadn't. But here, alone in the dark, only the dim light of the small lamp on the nightstand illuminating the room, everything felt different. Things had changed for them in the last twenty four hours. Scott had been reunited with Jean and even though he and Rogue most likely hadn't talked about what that meant for their future as a couple, Logan knew how things would turn out. Scott would never leave Jean willingly and now that he had her back, there was no way he'd choose Rogue over the true love of his life. And as much as it hurt Logan to know that _his_ Marie was hurting so badly over this, he knew that this was the perfect moment to finally explain to her the real reasons he'd returned.

"Marie," his voice soft and loving, far more gentle than most could say they'd ever heard the voice of the mighty Wolverine.

She shifted in his arms, turning slightly so she could just barely see his eyes, her face still pressed into his chest.

"Marie," he began again, "are you sure you wanna know all this, right now?"

She didn't hesitate, "Logan please?" it was almost begging.

Sighing deeply Logan hugged her to him a little more, arcing his neck he pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head and murmured, "I came back for you darlin'."

Unsatisfied with his response and _knowing_ there was more, Rogue pulled away from him just a little, "you've told me that before Logan," though her voice was soft and still broken with hurt, she almost sounded as though she was scolding him, "tell me the truth, please?"

He rumbled low in his chest, fighting the urge to push her away and avoid this whole uncomfortable talk. No matter how much he loved her, he would _never_ enjoy these heart to heart talks.

It was quiet in the bedroom as they sat there, Rogue curled into Logan's strong arms just waiting for him to finally tell her what she needed to hear most. Just when she thought he might never say anything, he shifted his weight on the bed, lifting her off of his broad chest and forcing her to sit on her own across from him.

Looking deep in those dark pools of melted chocolate that now glistened back at him, Logan finally mustered the courage to speak the words he'd been too scared, too stubborn, too unsure of himself to utter before. "because I love you Marie," he'd hoped they'd come out more sure than they had, but he was proud of himself nonetheless for at least getting it out.

Rogue sat motionless on the bed, her large shimmering eyes staring across at him. So large and bulky, hairy and rough, he was not what a sweet young southern girl who had been raised on the right side of the tracks was supposed to want. But he _was _what she had wanted. What she'd always wanted. Ever since that day in a dark dirty bar in Canada when she'd seen him fighting in a cage like an animal, smoking a huge disgusting cigar and drinking a beer, she'd known. Known that someday it would come to this and she'd get what she wanted.

A smile graced her plump lips and she looked up at him, "well it's about time," her eyes twinkling.

His brows rose together as he looked at her confused, "pardon?"

Her smile widened and she reached across the bed taking his large hand in hers, "what took y'so long sugah?" she was teasing him now.

Unsure of the change that had just occurred between them Logan looked down at their now entwined fingers then back up at her, one eyebrow raised when he asked, "how did you know?"

She tapped her temple with one index finger and everything suddenly dawned on him. Everything they'd been through in the last week, all the experiments Magneto had done on her, putting her in that machine with the other mutants. Whatever it had done to Magneto it must've done to her as well. Still trying to figure it all out in his own head, Rogue's words interrupted his thoughts.

"Jean," she said simply, giving her temple one more tap. "It's the only explanation for why I've had so much of you up here the last few days."

Logan thought back over their time in the cave, how she'd been overwhelmed by the voices in her head, so many more than had ever been there before. And then how he'd been able to feel _her_ in his own mind, what a strange feeling that had been. They couldn't understand how it would be possible for him to feel her in his head, but now, considering what she'd said about Jean it somehow all made sense. Magneto had funneled his powers into Rogue to power the machine which in turn allowed Rogue to drain the powers from all the other mutants, including Jean and then pouring them all into Magneto. But she must have kept some for herself, whether voluntarily or by accident, Rogue had become one of the most powerful mutants they'd ever encountered. She would be able to shape shift, teleport, control fire, electricity and metal and now to read minds and project her thoughts through others. It was an unbelievable thought but it explained everything. And now he also realized how she'd known. She probably hadn't been sure at first what she'd been feeling from him, not understanding that it was real and honest love in his heart, but after her last session in the machine it must've all become clear. And now she'd just been waiting for him to tell her, for him to confess and confirm that her suspicions were true.

"I'm sorry," his eyes lowered and he ached inside.

"For what?" confused, that his confession of love could bring on such an odd sentiment.

"For leaving," he mumbled, "for hurting you, yelling at you, blaming you, abandoning you. For breaking my promise to always take care of you and for popping back into your life at the worst possible time."

She thought he was finished but he went on, "for forcing you to do things you didn't want to do and for causing you to lose the man you loved." His eyes were dark and he'd turned so she could no longer see his face.

Letting the sudden silence fall over them Rogue waited a moment before responding.

"Apologize for leaving, but don't you dare apologize for anything else."

Surprised, he looked back at her.

"You broke my heart when you left, it's true," her hand rested on his knee, "but from the moment you walked back through my bedroom door, for the first time in over five years, I haven't regretted a single thing."

"But Scott?" uncertainty in his voice.

"But Scott is back with Jean now," the sadness in her voice was unmistakable despite how certain she sounded, "I did love him and I'm sure he loved me too, but he belongs with her, always has."

"Yer not mad?" it was a ridiculous question, but somehow seemed fitting considering their situation.

Smiling through the tears that had once again welled up in her eyes, "only if you don't kiss me soon y'big oaf!"

Surprised, but not about to let this moment pass him by, Logan shifted his weight then quickly pounced on her. A squeak escaped Rogues lips as she toppled back onto the bed, Logan atop her peppering her neck with long overdue kisses. Then his hot mouth trailing up the column of her throat and over her chin to her plump pink lips and he descended on her. His warm wet mouth pressing desperately against hers, tongue slipping smoothly between her parted lips seeking out hers and they tangled together in a dance of moist heat.

Her tiny hands, desperate to feel every inch of him snaked up his back and over his shoulders, fingernails scraping lightly over the taught tanned skin. Swirling her tongue around and around in his mouth, making sure to taste every bit of him, smoky and musky, he was warm and strong and everything she'd every dreamt he would be. Her arms tightened around him, pulling him down on her, aching for more and deep inside, scared that this could all be a dream and he'd be taken from her once again.

Sensing her fear his arms tightened around her as well, fingers digging softly into the skin of her back holding her tight, making sure to let her know he was there and that he wasn't going anywhere. Feeling her muscles relax and her kiss deepen, Logan rolled them over till he was on his back, her resting on top of him, her entire body melting into his.

Kissing him firmly, her hands traveled up his hard body, inspecting every curve of every muscle, tiny fingers tracing over his biceps and up his forearms she forced his arms above his head so she could access every part of him more easily.

Allowing her complete control Logan lay beneath her letting her feel, taste and maneuver him whichever way she liked. They had all the time in the world to explore each other and he knew he would get his chance soon enough. Relaxing so she could play however she chose, Logan slid his hands up under the pillows of her bed but stopped suddenly when his finger touched something smooth and cool. Curious of what she could have hidden under her pillow that would be so smooth, hard and cylinder shaped he wrapped his fingers around it and slid it out from its hiding place to get a better look.

Feeling his muscles tighten Rogue hesitated in her exploration of him to see what he was doing, then smiled when she saw what he held in his hand.

Lifting the brown bottle out in front of him Logan quirked an eyebrow at the woman laying atop him, "a beer?" his lip curling into an amused smile.

Blushing sheepishly she smiled down at him, "I had a feeling you'd be coming by tonight."

And with that Logan's mouth rose up to meet hers, their tongues tangling once again, arms wrapped around each other in loving need, and beer bottle long forgotten had slipped from his fingers rolling across the bed and down onto the floor stopping with an unheard 'ting' against the leg of the nightstand.

The End

**Well everyone, I guess that's it. I certainly hope you enjoyed it and for anyone who's been following along since the beginning, I apologize again for making you wait so very long for this ending. But hopefully you enjoyed it, it was a happy ending after all and I did try to make everyone happy, even the Scott lovers who begged me in the beginning not to hurt him.**

**Thanks for reading and I hope you'll review! I love reviews, they encourage me to write more fics!**

**Bye for now. :)**


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